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1 



Successful 
Fruit Culture 



A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE CULTIVATION 
AND PROPAGATION OF FRUITS 



SAMUEL TVMAYNARD, B. Sc. 

Formerly Professor of Horticulture at the Massachusetts Agricultural 

College ; Botanist and Pomologist to the Massachusetts 

Board of Agriculture, etc., etc. 



Illustrated 



ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 

New York 

1905 






LIBRARY Of CONGRESS 
Two Copies deceived 

FEB 8 1905 

Sopyngni tntry 

©WSS Jf XXc, No: ■ 
COPY B. 



COPYRIGHT 190S 

By 

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 



PREFACE 



During the past ten or fifteen years great progress 
has been made in the cultivation and care of our hardy 
fruits and especially in the varieties grown, the methods 
of packing, shipping and marketing, and during this 
time few books have been written which have kept up 
with this progress. This progress and the knowledge 
of insect and fungous pests and their destruction has 
been largely recorded in scientific books and papers 
from the numerous experiment stations, with little 
from the practical and practicing fruit growers, and 
there is a growing need of a condensed work giving, in 
plain language, a summary of the scientific progress 
made, together with the practice of the most successful 
fruit growers in various sections of the country. Espe- 
cially is this information needed that those just starting 
out in the business of fruit growing, or the village home 
owner who wishes to grow a small quantity of fruit for 
family consumption, may find in a condensed form the 
information necessary for success. It is, therefore, the 
aim of the author to make a book that is up to date in 
every particular and to cover the entire practice of fruit 
growing from the starting of the seed or cutting to the 
marketing of the fruit, though in many cases works 
devoted to special fruits may be more complete. It is 
written from the standpoint of the practical fruit grower 
who is striving to make his business profitable by 
growing the best fruit possible and at the least cost. 

No attempt is made to describe a large number of 
varieties, nor many of the numerous methods of train- 
ing, pruning, cultivating, etc., but to give in plain, 



VI PREFACE 

practical language descriptions of such varieties as are 
most in demand in our marketS;, and the methods prac- 
ticed by the most successful cultivators of many sections 
of the country; to deal with principles first and with 
the practice afterward;, for the practice to be successful 
must be based upon correct principles^ while the practice 
will always be. varied by the progressive fruit grower 
according to his immediate conditions and environment. 
The foundation principles of plant growth and nourish- 
ment, however, nuist always remain the same. 

No one can foresee what results the changing con- 
ditions from year to year of our own country or of 
those of other countries of the world may bring about 
in our methods of fruit growing, and the progressive 
fruit grower must be ready to adapt himself to these 
conditions or be left behind in the march of competition. 
The Northern States cannot expect to compete suc- 
cessfully with the more southern of our own States in 
growing our native fruits out of season, but each section 
can produce them to such a degree of perfection and put 
them into the hands of the consumer in such a fresh 
and attractive condition that there need be little desire 
on the part of dealers or consumers in any community 
to send beyond their own limits for their supply of 
fresh fruit in its season. 

We should also make an effort to supply any de- 
mand that may come from less favored countries, and, 
properly managed, this demand for our native fruits 
should assume very large proportions, but the main 
effort of the fruit growers, for whom this book is 
written, should be to supply their own sections with 
fruit in such an abundance and perfection and at such 
prices that the inferior products of other sections and 
other countries cannot secure our markets against the 
home supply. S. T. Mayiq-ard. 

NoRTHBORO, Mass., 1905. 



TABLE OP CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

I^-TRODUCTION 1 to 6 



CHAPTEE II 
The Apple 7 to 70 

CHAPTEE III 
The Pear 71 to 77 

CHAPTEE lY 
The Peach 78 to 91 

CHAPTEE V 
The Apricot and Nectarine 92 to 94 

CHAPTEE YI 
The Plum 95 to 103 

CHAPTEE VII 
The Cherry • 103 to 107 

CHAPTEE VIII 
The Quince 108 to 111 

CHAPTEE IX 
The Mulberry 112 to 113 

vii 



Vm CONTENTS 

CHAPTER X 

PAGB 

The Grape 114 to 129 

CHAPTER XI 
The Blackberry 130 to 138 

CHAPTER XII 
The Raspberry 139 to 146 

CHAPTER XIII 
The Currant and Gooseberry 147 to 152 

CHAPTER XIV 
The Strawberry 153 to 169 

CHAPTER XV 
The Cranberry 170 to 173 

CHAPTER XVI 
The Blueberry and Huckleberry 174 to 175 

CHAPTER XVII 
Sub-Tropical Fruits 176 to 182 

CHAPTER XVIII 
Propagation of Fruit Trees and Plants. 183 to 204 

CHAPTER XIX 
Fruit Under Glass 205 to 219 

CHAPTER XX 
Insect Pests 220 to 249 

CHAPTER XXI 
Fungous Diseases 250 to 265 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



FIG. PAGH 

1 Perfectly Formed Apple Tree Frontispiece 

2 Trench Plow 11 

3 Apple Orchard Too Closely Planted 13 

4 Apple Tree Perfectly Formed, Low Headed 14 

5 Planting Board 15 

6 Planting Board in Use 16 

7 Tree Properly Pruned for Planting 17 

8 Well Formed Tree Twelve Years Old 18 

9 Well Formed Tree Twelve Years Old in Bloom 13 

10 Methods of 'Heeling-in Trees 20 

11 Zinc Tree Label 22 

12 Lew Hanging Steel Plow 24 

13 Cutaway Wheel Harrow 25 

14 Orchard Harrow, California 25 

15 Acme Spring Tooth Harrow 26 

16 Giape Hoe '. 26 

17 Weeder , 27 

18 Cover Crop of Canada Peas and Barley 35 

19 Apple Tree Pruned Too Severely 37 

20 Apple Tree, Lower Branches Pruned 38 

21 Apple Tree, Where to Cut Large Branch 38 

22 Apple Tree, Pruning Crossing Branches 39 

23 Pruning Saw 40 

24 Paragon Pruning Saw 40 

25 Pruning Hook 41 

26 Pruning Shears 42 

27 Regrafted Tree 46 

28 Cleft Grafting 47 

29 The Cion 48 

30 Cleft Grafting, Starting and Growth 48 

31 Clef c Grafting, Horizontal View 48 

32 Cion, Horizontal View 48 

33 Crown Grafting 49 

34 Cleft Graft with Four Cions 49 

35 Orchard Stepladder 59 

36 Cornerpieces on Bushel Boxes 61 

37 Apples in Bushel Boxes 61 

•j8 Screw Apple Press 63 

39 Lever Apple Press 64 

40 Cold Storage Fruit House • • • 69 

41 No. 2 Peach Tree 80 

42 No. 1 Peach Tree 80 

43a Peach Tree Trimmed to Whip 80 

43& Peach Tree Cut Back to Stub 80 

ix 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



FIG. PAGE 

44 Peach Tree Before Pruning 82 

45 Peach Tree Pruned 83 

46 Peach Tree Improved 84 

47 Peach Orchard Cultivated 85 

48 Peach Orchard Four Years Old 86 

49 Peach Orchard in Grass 87 

50 Georgia Peach Carrier = 90 

51 Fellenberg Plum 99 

52 Satsuma Plum 100 

53 Hawkeye Plum 101 

54 Sweet Cherry Trees 105 

55 Sour Cherry Trees 106 

56 Low Branching Quince Tree 109 

57 Orange Quince 110 

58 Rea's Quince 110 

59 New American Mulberry 112 

60 Downing Mulberry 112 

61 Planting Grapevine 116 

62 Vineyard with Cover Crop 117 

63 Vineyard Without Cover Crop 117 

64 Economical Use of Posts 118 

65 The Kniffin System of Grape Training 119 

66 Method of Bracing End Posts 120 

67 Modified Kniffin System of Grape Training 121 

68 Grape Picking and Storing Tray 124 

69 Implements for Girdling Grapevines 128 

70 Blackberries Pruned and Unpruned 132 

71 Crosspiece to Blackberry Trellis 134 

72 Supports for Blackberries and Raspberries 135 

73 Lucretia Dewberry 137 

74 Red Raspberry, Field Culture 140 

75 Laying Down Raspberry Canes 141 

76 Blackcap Raspberry Tips Rooted 143 

77 Cherry Currant 149 

78 White Imperial Currant 150 

79-80 Arrangement of Planting Staminate and Pis- 
tillate Varieties 155 

81 Plant Set Too Deep 156 

82 Plant Set Too Shallow 158 

83 Plant Set Just Right 157 

84 Diagram of Hedge Row System 157 

85 Strawberries in Wide Matted Rows 158 

86 Ditch Method of Irrigation 161 

87 Staminate Flower of Straw^berry 163 

88 Pistillate Flower of Strawberry 164 

89 The Marshall Strawberry Carrier 168 

90 Large Bell Cranberry 172 

91 Orange Tree in Tub 178 

92 Bearing Branch of Fig 181 

93-94-95 Root Grafting 185 

96 Budstick 187 

97 Budding Knives 188 

98-99-100-101 Budding 189 



ILLUSTRATIONS Xl 



PAGE 
FIG. _ 

102-103 Nursery Treatment of Young Trees 



197 

104 Quince Stool :J^' 

105 Grape Cutting 

106 Layering the Grapevine ^^^ 



107 Grafting the Grape 



200 



108 Span Roof Curvilinear Fruit House 205 

109 Lean-to Fruit House 'A' I'-V"^" 'AL^ic^l 

110 Fruit House Wall with Opening into Outside Border. 208 

111 Cold Grapery Border ^}^ 

112 Training the Vine, Third Year ^|» 

113 Layering Strawberry Plants in Pots ^i^ 

114 A Bench of Strawberry Plants for Forcing 218 

115 Round-headed Apple Tree Borer ^^4 

116 Flat-headed Apple Tree Borer ^^^ 

117 Oyster Shell Bark Louse ^|o 

118 Tent Caterpillar ^^' 

119 San Jose Scale » 

120 Canker Worm ^qo 

121 Apple Aphis ^^^ 

122 Codlin Moth • 2S4 

123 Apple Maggot 

124 Woolly Aphis ^^^ 

125 Pear Psylla 2qq 

126 Plum Curculio ^ 

127 Curculio Catcher ^*" 

128 Rose Bug or Chafer |*^ 

129 Currant Worm ^ ? 

130 Currant Eggs on Leaf -** 

131 Currant Worms Eating Leaves ^*o 

132 May Beetle ^*' 



133 Strawberry Crown Borer 



248 



INTRODUCTION 

The importance of the fruit industry to the people 
of the United States presents several phases, among 
which are the value of fruit as a promoter of health, 
its value as a luxury and its importance as a money crop. 

AS A PROMOTER OF HEALTH 

In this way I consider fruit as of by far greater 
value to man than in any other. Our country is in a 
remarkably prosperous condition and our people can 
very easily obtain the food materials necessary to the 
formation of muscle, bone and fat, and it has been 
the tendency of a large majority of them to be satisfied 
with meat, bread, pastry and numerous condiments 
without an adequate supply of vegetables and fruit. 

Fruit is generally looked upon as a luxury, but 
when properly considered it is a necessity, an aid to the 
proper utilization of the heavier food materials and for 
invigorating the various organs of the body so that 
they may best meet the demands made upon them and 
properly store up materials for repairing all wastes 
resulting from bodily efforts. 

That fresh, ripe fruit, in moderate quantities, does 
enable the system to utilize other food materials taken 
into it for nourishment, and causes all of the organs 
to act with more vigor, needs no extended discussion 
here. Our people should use more fruit, and they would 
find it profitable to do so, from many points of view, 
and much cheaper than doctor's bills. 



2 SUCCESSFUL FKUIT CULTUEE 

AS A LUXURY 

From the above point of view fruit is an indis- 
pensable article of food. Fresh ripe fruit is always ac- 
ceptable with meals, or for the midday lunch it is far 
more refreshing than any fermented beverage and more 
nutritious than the choicest pastry or confectionery. 
What a variety of delicious dishes can be prepared from 
fresh fruit or from the dried or canned product that 
keeps in a perfect condition so long after its natural 
season. What fond recollections often in later years 
linger around the old home where an abundance of fruit 
was the lot of youth now grown gray in the service 
of mankind. What a source of pleasure and refreshment 
to the laboring mechanic or tiller of the soil after a long 
day's toil in the summer or autumn or during the cold 
days of winter, and yet how few of our laboring people 
can enjoy more than a small fraction of the fruit needed 
for health and enjoyment. 

AS A MONEY CROP 

Some idea of the importance of the fruit crops 
of the United States may be obtained when we consider 
the extent of land occupied by some of our fruits, 
although accurate statistics are not available for all 
kinds of fruits, and the immense quantity of fruit 
produced for our own consumption aad for shipping to 
other countries. The census of 1900 gives the number 
of apple trees of bearing age in the United States, 
201,794,764, and the crop of apples produced 175,397,- 
636 bushels; the number of peach trees 99,919,428, 
with a crop of 15,433,601 bushels; the number of grape- 
vines over 200,000,000, while the grape crop was over 
1,200,000,000 pounds. 

Statistics of acreage and products of the other 
hardy fruits to be found are so unsatisfactory that they 



INTRODUCTION 3 

are not given, but we know that in many localities the 
number of bushels of small fruits far exceeds the yield 
of the large fruits, and that they are more or less grown 
for home consumption on at least a majority of the 
farm homes of the country, and in most of the home 
gardens in villages where there is sufficient land. 

In the extreme Southern States and on the Pacific 
slope we find large areas planted with oranges, lemons, 
pineapples, raisin grapes, prunes, and it is claimed that 
in Florida and California there are orange trees enough 
planted to produce more than 10,000,000 boxes of fruit 
annually, while on the Pacific slope so many prunes are 
produced (600,000,000 pounds reported as the crop of 
1904) and those of such fine quality as to reduce the 
importation of prunes from Southern Europe to a mere 
nominal quantity. Within the past few years the 
planting of fruit trees and vines has increased very 
rapidly in all sections of the country, except possibly 
in New England, so that we have some of the largest 
orchards in the world in our midst. 

In Missouri, Kansas and some of the other Middle 
Western States, may be found apple orchards of thou- 
sands of acres in extent; on the Pacific slope the prune 
growing industry is assuming immense proportions, and 
it is said that the grape growing section or belt 
between Lake Erie on the north and Lake Chautauqua 
on the south is the largest in the world. Yet, notwith- 
standing this immense increase in planting, the demand 
for our fruit products keeps pace with the supply, prices 
are sustained, our people are not supplied with nearly 
the quantity of fresh fruit that they need for health 
and comfort, and with our rapid growth in wealth and 
population we must expect equally rapid increase in 
the demand for choice fruit. 

Foreign markets, too, are demanding the products 
of our orchards and if properly managed this demand 



4 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

should be sufficient to largely taJie the surplus that 
our own population does not consume. In a single year 
we exported over 3,395,000 barrels of apples to Europe 
(largely, or almost wholly to England), and a demand 
for other fruits in large quantities will no doubt arise 
whenever we can deliver them to these markets in a 
satisfactory condition. The great progress being made 
in methods of preservation and shipping fresh fruits 
will, no doubt, soon solve this important problem, when 
we can hope to ship successfully to European markets 
our oranges, grapes, pears, plums and even peaches. 

Within the past few years a large demand has 
arisen for our evaporated fruits in foreign markets, and 
the fact that in this condition these products can be 
kept for an almost indefinite time, occupy the least 
possible space and can be shipped to the remotest mar- 
kets of the world must lead in the future to their largo 
consumption. In 1897 30,883,921 pounds of evaporated 
apple was exported from the United States to foreign 
countries. 

The business of utilizing the products of our 
orchards and gardens by evaporation and canning, 
while in its infancy, has reached large proportions, espe- 
cially in seasons of abundance, where the supply can 
thus be carried over to seasons of scarcity, but is des- 
tined to become a far greater factor in the future of 
fruit growing. The immense wastes of our orchards 
during the summer and autumn, when fruit perishes 
very quickly, may be in this way saved. It is said that 
over 600 carloads of evaporated apple were shipped 
from one county in New York State in the season of 
1894, and other sections are rapidly increasing in this 
method of utilizing the poorer grades of apples. The 
city of Boston in one season consumed over 1,000,000 
pounds of evaporated apple and more than the same 
number of gallons of canned apple. The surplus and 






INTRODUCTION 5 

especially the more perishable grades of all kinds of 
fruits may be utilized, either in the canned or evap- 
orated condition, which must be kept out of the mar- 
kets, or low prices of all grades will rule. 

THE COST OF PRODUCTION 

The cost of production of any article, whether it 
be from the factory or a crop grown in the field, is a 
very important factor, and while, with the products of 
the factory, the cost of production has been wonder- 
fully reduced, the cost of the fruit crop or other farm 
and garden crops has not been materially reduced, 
owing to the high price of labor and the difficulty of 
applying labor saving machinery. It may be said in 
this connection, however, that the price of farm and 
garden crops, and especially the fruit crops, has not 
been reduced very materially, and to the intelligent 
fruit grower, who applies good business principles to 
his work, who uses the best labor saving devices for 
reducing the cost and improvement of his product and 
who looks to the details of the production and the sale 
of his crops as closely as does the successful merchant 
or manufacturer, there is almost a certain promise of 
financial success. 

FUTURE PROSPECTS OF SUCCESS IN FRUIT GROWING 

The rapid increase of the country in population and 
wealth must lead to a proportionate increase in the 
demand for native fruit, provided the growers are wise 
and produce attractive fruit of fine quality. Good fruit 
of any kind, well grown, and put up in an attractive 
manner, will increase the demand and price for that 
kind of fruit, while poor fruit will not only decrease 
the demand and also the price of that particular grade, 
but more or less of all other grades. 



6 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

We may give this, therefore, as a rule or axiom 
in fruit growing: "That the more choice fruit of any 
hind the people have, the more they want, while the 
more poor fruit put upon the market the less the 
demand." Of course the prices, other things being 
equal, will depend largely upon the supply and demand, 
yet the sales are more or less well founded upon the 
above facts. The problem, then, that confronts the fruit 
grower of to-day is ''how to grow good fruit, how to grow 
it cheaply, how to attract buyers, and how to utilize all 
of the products/' In the future chapters of this book 
it will be my aim to keep these points always in mind, 
to present the latest and most practical thoughts, and 
to show what methods progressive and successful fruit 
growers are following, what varieties they are growing 
and how they conduct their business. 



II 

THE APPLE 

THE COMMOJ^ APPLE {PyVUS molus) 

THE SIBERIAN APPLE {PyriLS laccato) 

The apple is at once the most important and the 
most widely disseminated of all the large fruits, being 
found more or less in all the temperate regions wher- 
ever civilization exists. Its fruit may be had in a fresh 
condition, without special preserving applications, from 
August to June, and by the aid of modern cold storage 
rooms the year around. Its hardiness, its productive- 
ness, the ease with which it is grown, the great variety 
of uses made of it, and its nutritive value, leave it 
without a peer. 

In its original wild form the fruit of the common 
apple, Pyrus malus, is small in size, often very acid or 
bitter and indigestible, and growing on thorny, irregular 
trees. By favorable natural conditions, or by cultiva- 
tion, it has been improved until we have the large, 
vigorous, upright tree, entirely free from thorns and 
producing large, delicious and easily digested fruit. 
The Siberian apple {Pyrus haccata) has contributed 
something to the cultivated varieties, as the common, 
yellow and Eed Siberian crab, and the numerous hybrids 
with P. maluSj the Oldenburg, Gravenstein, Bed Astra- 
chan, etc., and the Eussian varieties that have in the 
past few years been introduced in the hope that they 
might prove hardier in the extreme North than the old 
varieties. Most of the valuable varieties, however, that 
are largely grown, are supposed to be pure seedlings 
from the first species. 



8 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

The climate and soil of the Northern United States 
and of Canada are peculiarly well adapted to the growth 
of the apple, and no country in the world can produce 
apples of so fine quality, so brilliantly colored, or that 
will keep so long. Our fruit has almost a world-wide 
reputation, and European and other countries ought in 
the future to consume more and more of it, both in a 
fresh or in some preserved condition. It is a fruit* 
that yields heavy crops, as many as twenty barrels hav- 
ing been obtained from a single tree, and five hundred 
barrels have been produced on an orchard of two acres. 
Such crops, however, cannot be grown except under the 
most favorable condition of soil and skillful care. 

THE SOIL 

The land best suited to the growth of the apple 
is a deep, moist loam, but it will produce some fruit 
upon almost any soil, except one that is very wet or 
composed largely of sand. As with all other crops the 
margin for a profit is small and one about to start into 
apple growing for profit should carefully investigate 
the condition of soil, and not invest largely until well 
satisfied that the land selected is naturally adapted to 
the growth of this fruit. 

The slope and exposure of the land are of consider- 
able importance. High land is generally better than 
that situated in the valleys, though the soil often is 
not of as good quality, but there is a good circulation 
of air about the trees on the high land, and fungous 
diseases are not so troublesome, and late frosts in the 
spring and early frosts in the fall are not liable to cut 
off the crop. There is little choice as to the exposure 
unless in a given locality there is more danger of high 
winds, when the trees are loaded with fruit, from one 
direction than another. Sloping land is much more 
difficult to cultivate than level land and much of the 



THE APPLE 9 

l^ant food applied is likely to be washed to the foot 
of the slope, leaving the tops of hills with a small 
supply unless a soil cover crop is kept on the land. 

TREES FOR AN ORCHARD 

The best stock for planting is vigorous trees that 
have reached a medium to large size in two years from 
the bud or root graft, while an older tree is not so 
desirable, on account of the number of roots that must 
necessarily be destroyed in transplanting. A three or 
four-year-old tree has more vitality and will stand more 
ill treatment and exposure than a younger one, yet 
the young tree, if properly planted and cared for, 
will start into growth more vigorously and in the 
end make the better tree. The fibrous roots of the 
young tree will be found not far from the trunk, while 
those on the older tree will each year be extending 
outward, and as the distance from the tree that the 
spade is inserted in digging is the same in both cases, 
the fibers of the older tree will be the most injured. 
A very good plan, followed by some orchardists who are 
obliged to purchase trees grown at a long distance from 
home, is to buy strong one-year-old trees and plant 
them in good soil in their home nursery, where they 
grow for one or two years, and then dig and transplant 
them to the orchard with little or no exposure of the 
roots to the sun and drying air. 

If the planter has the necessary skill to grow trees 
to the proper form after they are planted in the orchard, 
it would be much safer to set out stocky, low-branched 
trees, as tall, slim ones are liable to be injured by the 
hot sun striking on the long, slender trunk after being 
removed from the shelter of the nursery and require 
considerable time and skill to train the head to the 
proper form. 



10 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

WHERE TO OBTAIN TREES 

If the orchardist or planter is not skilled in the 
art of growing trees in the nursery- — and some do not 
have this skill — ^it will be best to buy trees of reliable 
and long-established nurseries as near home as possible. 
If possible, the stock should be seen in the nursery, 
especially if large numbers are to be planted, and full 
understanding be had as to how and when the trees 
are to be delivered. We would not advise the purchase 
of trees from irresponsible nursery agents, for, while 
there are honest nursery agents, these men, as a class, 
are generally looked upon as unprincipled, often because 
of the difficulty in coming at a clear understanding 
between the agent and purchaser, which largely arises 
from the fact that the agent does not show his goods 
nor sell by a sample even, but secures his orders from 
gaudy colored plates that are generally the most hor- 
rible exaggerations. In many cases the agent is almost 
entirely ignorant of the varieties of the trees or plants 
he sells and will tell almost any story in order to sell 
his goods. For the above reasons it is best to send 
orders directly to reliable nurseries, where one will be 
sure to receive courteous treatment, and orders be filled 
in the best possible manner. The man who can care for 
an orchard with success, who can grow young trees 
after they have been set in the orchard, can grow young 
trees for planting, and it is often a greater advantage 
to have a small nursery in connection with all large 
orchards, though as a rule the trained nurseryman can 
grow trees cheaper and better than the customer. 

PREPARATION" OF THE LAND 

If the land is free from stones, so that it can be 
easily plowed^ it will pay to work it fifteen inches deep 
by following the ordinary plow with the sole or trench 



THE APPLE 11 

plow. (Figure 2.) This loosens the subsoil without 
bringing it to the surface, so that the roots can pene- 
trate more deeply and make a light soil more retentive 
of moisture, and surface-drains a heavy soil, for a time 
at laast. If the land is not naturally in condition to 
produce a vigorous growth of trees, and one season's 
delay is possible before planting, it can be very cheaply 
enriched with green manure crops, like soy beans, cow- 
peas, oats and peas, and barley and peas, or even rye. 
Something like the following routine is suggested. In 
the early spring sow oats and peas and when in blossom 



Fig. 2— Sole or Trench Plow 

plow under. About the middle of August sow peas and 
barley, which may be allowed to remain on the land 
until the following spring, when it is plowed under 
and the trees planted. Another plan would be to drill 
in soy beans the last of May, to be plowed under about 
the same time as the peas and oats, this to be followed 
by peas and barley. This will give a larger amount 
of green manure and probably enrich the land more 
than the first. 

If preparation of the land begins early in the fall 
and the trees are not to be planted for a year, rye 



12 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

may be sown in September, to be turned under in June, 
and followed by the soy beans and then by peas and 
barley. 

Should the land be very much exhausted, a light 
dressing of fertilizer may be necessary with the first 
crop. With land that cannot be fitted by plowing, it 
can only be properly fitted by digging large holes in 
which to plant the trees ; the larger the space worked the 
better the trees will grow. 

DISTANCE FOR PLANTING 

Trees that grow only to medium size, like the 
Fameuse, Ben Davis, Wealthy, Sutton and others, on 
poor soil, may be planted as near as 25x25 or 30x30 
feet, but trees of a larger growth, like the Baldwin, 
Gravenstein, King, etc., and on strong soil, should be 
planted not less than 40x40 feet. Double thick plant- 
ing is largely practiced, i. e., 12 1-2x12 1-2, 15x15 and 
20x20 feet, and this method has many advantages. In 
the first place, the cost of trees is a very small item in the 
expense of planting an orchard, while the crop produced 
from the trees, up to the twelfth year, when they begin 
to touch branches, will often be a large item in paying 
the expense of the whole. The great danger in this 
method lies in the reluctance with which the temporary 
trees will be removed when they begin to encroach 
upon the permanent ones. The varieties used between 
the permanent trees, called fillers, are often early 
maturing, that do not grow to a large size, such as the 
Wealthy, Ben Davis, Hubbardston, etc. By heading 
hack the fillers as they encroach upon the permanent 
trees, they may be kept in condition for bearing fruit 
for twenty years or more. But this work must be begun 
as soon as the branches begin to touch or all will be 
permanently injured. Figure 3 shows the result of 
close planting where the fillers have not been removed. 



THE APPLE 



13 



and Figure 4 shows a perfect low-headed tree with 
fillers removed. 

LAYING OUT AN ORCHARD 

In planting an orchard, whether the land is to be 
cultivated or not, it is advisable to have the trees in 
straight rows and equal distances, not only for beauty 




Pig. 3— Result of Close Planting 

but also for convenience in working among them. 
Perhaps the best way to do this is to use a long, hard- 
twisted cord or a wire with marks attached at proper 
intervals upon it. The wire, about No. 14 or 16, gal- 
vanized, with drops of solder at intervals of five, ten 
or twenty feet, is much better than the cord, as it is 
not affected by wet or dryness, and will not stretch. The 



THE APPLE . 15 

cord or wire should be stretched along two opposite 
sides of the land and stakes put at the proper 
distance. Then stretch it from the other two sides, 
putting a stake at every mark. All measurements 
must be made horizontally, or on the level, if the land is 
sloping, otherwise the trees will be of unequal distance. 
If the distance of twenty or forty feet be laid off on a 
sloping surface, it will be found that the space between 
these will be less than between those laid out hori- 
zontally. 

To lay out an orchard so that the stakes shall 
be exactly in line is a simple matter, but after digging 
the holes it is diflBcult to put 
the trees all exactly where y ^ ^ ^ ^=u°\ 

the stakes stood unless the p.^^ S-PIantmg Board 

planting board. Figure 5, is 

used. This consists of any straight-edged board with 
a notch in the center and one at each end equal distances 
from the center. It should be long enough to reach 
across the hole and should be placed on the same side 
of the stakes for every hole. Before digging the holes 
for the trees, the planting board is placed with its 
center notch against the stake, which is then pulled 
out and put at one of the end notches and another 
stake put at the remaining end notch. The board can 
now be removed, the hole dug, taking care not to 
disturb the stakes or cover them with soil, and when 
ready to plant the tree, the planting board is placed 
against the stakes and the tree against the center notch, 
as shown in Figure 6, which will bring it just where 
the stake stood. 

DIGGIN"G THE HOLES 

If many trees are to be planted, and it is dry and 
windy, it is better to dig as many holes during the 
middle of the day as can be filled with trees during 



16 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

the last two hours of the afternoon and the first two 
hours of the morning, as the roots will be much less 
liable to injury at this time than if planted in the 
hot sun in the middle of the day. 

If the land has been deeply plowed, the holes 
need be only large enough to allow the spreading of 
the roots in their natural position; 'the size must 
depend upon the size of the trees planted. 

If the trees are to be planted in turf, the holes 
should be three or four feet across, with the subsoil 
well loosened. The surface soil should be thrown in 
a pile by itself, to be used for filling in about the roots, 
and the subsoil in another pile, to be spread upon the 

surface after the trees have 
>j been planted. 

If the soil is poor, it is 
necessary that some well- 
rotted manure, or fertilizer, 
be put with the soil used 
for filling in about the roots. 
This should be thoroughly 
Fig. 6-Pianting the Tree mixed with the soil, or in- 
jury instead of benefit will 
result. If coarse unfermented manure only is available, 
it should not he used until the roots have first been 
covered with two or three inches of soil, when it may 
be mixed with the remaining soil or be spread on the 
surface after the hole has been filled. The amount to 
be used must be varied according to the condition of 
the soil; from one to two shovelfuls of fine manure, 
or two to four handfuls of fine ground bone, or one 
to two handfuls of fine ground bone and potash well 
mixed with the soil. 

Proper fertilizing of the land is one of the most 
important conditions of success in fruit culture. Many 
people will blame the nurserymen because the trees 




THE APPLE 



17 



tliey buy and plant do not grow when there is little 
or no plant food in the soil to sustain them. One has 
as good a right to expect a crop of corn from land 
with no fertilizer as a good growth of trees under sim- 
ilar conditions. If some of the people who fail in 
tree planting from this cause, could see the amount 
of manure or fertilizers used by nurserymen and suc- 
cessful orchardists, they would cease to wonder why 
their trees do no better, and put the blame where it 
belongs. On land that is naturally rich and moist, 
however, fruit trees, especially the apple and peach, 
will need little or no manure or fertilizer until fruiting, 
if the land is kept frequently cultivated. 



PREPARING THE TREES FOR PLANTING 

It matters not how carefully trees may be dug 
from the nursery, more or less of the fine roots and 
all of the root-hairs will be injured, and, as generally 
received from the nurseries, there is 
little to the trees but a few stubs of 
roots and the top, with its numerous 
branches and buds to be supplied with 
moisture and food from this small 
amount of roots. The consequence 
is that none of the branches makes 
much growth, or the evaporation is 
so great from the large amount of. the 
surface of the branches and numerous 
buds that the moisture is dried out 
faster than it is supplied by the 
scanty roots, and the tree dies. To 
remedy this condition, the top must 
be reduced in proportion to the injury 
to the roots, as shown in Figure 7, 
b b h b. The older and larger the 




Fig. 7— Tree Properly 
Headed Up at Plant- 
ing 



18 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



tree, the more severely must it be pruned. The larger 
roots wherever injured should be cut off smooth, as decay 
is more certain to spread from a torn than from a 
smoothly cut surface. 



ESTABLISHING THE HEAD 



In cutting back the tree to obtain a balance 
between the roots and top, the formation of the head 




Fig. 8— WeII=Formed Low=tleaded Tree, Twelve Years Old 

should be kept in mind and all shoots not needed to 
form the main branches of the head be cut away 
entirely. The trees as received from the average nur- 
sery have the main branches started at from three to 
four feet from the ground, and if a head started higher 



THE APPLE 



19 



than this is desired the process of "heading up" will 
require from one to three years, according to the hight 
desired. Figure 7 illustrates this process, in which all 
the branches, & & & &, are cut off close to the trunk, the 
leader being allowed to grow and to produce a set of 
branches at the dotted lines, a. The increase in the 
hight of the head will not be more than fifteen or 
eighteen inches each*year and to start the main branches 




Fig. 9— The Same Tree in Blossom 

five feet from the ground may require two or three 
years after planting. The formation of a cluster of 
branches at one point on the trunk should be avoided, 
as in time the tree is sure to split down at the fork. 
The main branches should start out from opposite 
sides of the trunk at intervals of from five to ten inches 
apart. 



20 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



Orchardists are now training their trees with a 
head much lower than formerly, because of the many 
advantages of the low-headed tree. The pruning is 
more easily done, the trunk is less exposed to the hot 
sun and drying winds; thinning and spraying can be 
more easily done, the fruit will be more easily and 
cheaply gathered and the fruit that falls to the ground 
will be less injured in the fall, and with modern tools, 
like the spring-tooth harrow or the cutaway orchard 
harrow, as good work can be done as if the heads were 
trained five or six feet high. Figure 8 illustrates a 
well-formed low-headed tree and Figure 9 shows the 
same tree in blossom. 



TIME FOR PLANTING 



The best time for setting out apple trees will 
depend somewhat on the season. When the trees are 




Fig. 10— Two Methods of Heeling=In 

taken from the home nursery, or can be obtained near 
home, so that they will be but a few hours out of 
the ground, and when they ripen their buds by the last 
of October or early l^ovember, the fall is the best time 
for planting unless on land very much exposed to cold, 
drying winds. But if the trees grow late in the fall 
and are purchased from nurseries at a long distance 



THE APPLE 21 

from where they are to be planted, it would be safer 
to plant in the spring. It is the practice of many 
orchardists to purchase trees in the fall, and heel them 
in, as shown in Figure 10, where they will be protected 
during the winter and be ready for early planting in the 
spring. The soil for this purpose should be light and 
porous and the surface water should be prevented from 
settling in about the roots. 

» 

PLANTING THE TREES 

Having the holes dug, the trees pruned and every- 
thing in readiness, the most important part of the work 
is now to be done. Only a few trees should be exposed 
to the weather at once, unless on a moist, cloudy 
day. Three men are required to do the work most 
rapidly and thoroughly; one to put the tree in place, 
spread out the roots and press the soil in and about 
the roots; and two with spades, one of whom carries 
the planting board. Perhaps ten trees are dropped in 
place, when man No. 1 takes up a tree, while No. 2 
fixes the planting board. Figure 5, with the end notches 
against the two stakes. No. 1 now places the trunk 
of the tree against the middle notch of the planting 
board and spreads out the roots in a natural position, 
while No. 3 is ready to throw in some rich, fine surface 
soil, working it in about the roots so that it shall 
be everywhere in contact with them, and after being 
covered with three inches of soil, pressing the soil 
down firmly with the foot. As soon as the tree is in 
its proper place, No. 2 throws his planting board to 
ihe next hole, takes up his spade and assists in filling 
up the hole and leveling off the surface soil about the 
tree. The soil should be pressed very firmly in contact 
with the roots, but that on the surface should be left 
ag light and loose as possible. 



22 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

LABELING 

All trees should be permanently labeled before 
planting, and a plan be made of the orchard where 
every tree is located and name given, so that if a label 
becomes lost or disfigured, no difficulty will be found 
in looking up the proper name. The most permanent 
label, the most easily attached to the tree, and at the 
same time the cheapest, consists of a triangular zinc 
strip one-half to three-fourths inch wide at one end, 
tapering to a point at the other, and five to six inches 
long, as seen in Figure 11. This should be slightly 
corroded and the name written with a medium-hard 
lead pencil. If the zinc is just right and the name 
is written in a broad hand, it will be distinctly visible 
for a lifetime. It is fastened to the tree by winding 




Piie:. 1 1— Zinc Label 

the small end about a small branch, and as the branch 
grows the label is uncoiled and does not cut into the 
tree. A very thin label of this form is made of copper, 
the name being pressed into it by a stylo, or a very 
hard pencil. The names on the copper label are as 
perm-anent as on those of zinc, but are not so legible nor 
the label so easily obtained. 

CULTIVATION 

The effect of stirring the soil after planting trees 
is: first, to prevent the escape of moisture by forming 
a layer of loose, non-conducting soil on the surface ; and 
second, hastening the preparation of plant food by the 



THE APPLE 23 

introduction of air. In young orchards it will be found 
most, economical to grow some hoed crop among the 
tre:s ior a few years; but, as a rule, such crops will 
not more than pay the cost of cultivation and fertilizers 
used, while they often fall far short of this, and the 
owner must take his profit in the increased value of 
his trees. Any hoed crop may be used that does not 
require cultivation during August and September, as 
cultivation during these months often causes a late 
growth of the trees that are more likely to be injured 
than if they matured earlier. The corn crop, if of the 
small stalked kinds and not planted too close to the 
trees, is also a good crop, but none of the small grains 
should be used, as they draw so heavily upon the mois- 
ture supply in May and June as to seriously check the 
growth of the trees. 

With the use of the modern tools for orchard 
cultivation, now on the market, the cost of cultivation 
is much less than it was twenty years ago, and orchards 
are more and more being cared for by constant cultiva- 
tion. The advantages of this method are, that the 
roots are kept deep in the soil and are less liable to 
injury from the extremes of cold or drouth; less plant 
food is needed to keep up a vigorous growth, as the 
latent elements in the soil are made more available by 
contact with the air; the moisture during dry weather 
is kept in the soil by the mulch of fine soil produced 
by frequent cultivation ; the greater the drouth the more 
frequent should be the cultivation. There may be a 
limit to the number of times one can cultivate with 
a profit, but twice or three times each week in very 
dry weather is none too frequent ; a more even temper- 
ature of soil is produced by cultivation, which results 
in a steady and healthy growth that is less liable to 
diseases, most of which only attack trees in a weakened 
condition. 



34 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



It is the practice of many orchardists to keep the 
land in turf for a series of years, then to plow and 
cultivate for a year or two and reseed, but better 
results will be obtained by constant cultivation, because 
the roots are kept well in the ground, while after they 
have stood in turf for several years thej work close 
to the surface and are seriously torn and cut when 
the land is plowed again. A heavy mulching of the 
ground, close to the trunks of the trees, during the 
summer, has the same effect, but if once begun must 
be kept up or the trees will be injured by cold or 
drouth when the mulch decays. 



IMPLEMENTS FOR CULTIVATION" 

The plow is an indispensable implement in the 
cultivation of the orchard. It is needed for turning 

under green ma- 
nuring or cover 
crops and where 
weeds have be- 
come too large to 
be uprooted by 
the harrow or 
cultivator. This 




Pig. 12— LowHaoKing Landside Plow 



tool should never oe run so deep as to go under the 
roots, and the furrows should not be turned the same 
way every time, so as to form ridges along the line of 
the trees or to draw the soil too much away from the 
roots. On sloping land, where a ridge is likely to be 
formed along the line of the trees, it is well to turn 
the furrows uphill to overcome this tendency. A low- 
hanging landside plow, like the one shown in Figure 
12, will do much better work than will a sidehill plow. 
The wheel harrow of the common or cutaway form, 
Figure 13, is now made with a long arm or spreader 
by which the shears are carried under the branches 



THE APPLE 



25 



of the tree, while the horses and the driver are in 
the space outside. The California orchard harrow. 
Figure 14, will be found to be very serviceable on 
heavy land. 

The spring-tooth harrow, of which there are many 
forms, is one of the best tools for keeping the soil of 




Plgr. 13— Cutaway Wheel Harrow 

an orchard in fine condition and killing weeds, because 
of the lifting effect of the teeth upon the soil, which 
leaves the surface more loose and lighter than any other 
tool. By separating the sections with a spreader. Figure 
15, or by hitching 
the team to one 
side, or by a 
special evener, the 
teeth are carried 
well under the 
branches, and by 
turning the horses 
in a circle around 
the trees, the har- 
row will be drawn 
so close up to the 
trunks that little or no hand cultivating need be done. 
Handles or a strong rope should be attached to this 
harrow to assist in guiding it, so as not to come in 
contact with the trees. 




Fig. 14— California Orchard Harrow 



26 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



The smoothing harrow and weeders can often be 
used to good advantage after the plow, or the wheel or 
spring-toothed harrows. Figure 16 shows the grape 
hoe, with spring-teeth attachment, also a valuable 




Fig. IS— Spring=Tooth Harrow 

tool, working close up to the trees without injury. The 
weeders. Figure 17, are especially valuable in keeping a 
fine tilth of the surface soil, as they cover a wide space 
and can be more easily guided than the smoothing har- 
row. They must be used frequently in order to keep 




Pis:. 16— Tlie Grape Hoe 



down weeds. Weeders with straight teeth do better 
work in orchards than those with curved teeth. 

Only the most careful men who are skillful team- 
sters should be allowed to work in an orchard with 



THE APPLE 



27 



any of the above mentioned tools, for careless or un- 
skilled men will often do more injury in an hour than 
can be repaired in years of time. 



TURF CULTURE 

In nearly every apple growing State of the Union 
there are thousands upon thousands of acres of land 
too rough and stony to be cultivated and upon which 
may often be found large apple trees remarkable for 
their vigor and productiveness. The fruit produced 
upon such land is noted for its high color, rich flavor 
and long keeping qualities. Much of this land is almost 
worthless for any 
other purpose 
than forestry and 
the production of 
apples ; and if 
properly planted 
with apple trees 
and cared for, it 
would, in a few 
years, give a 
large income for 

the investment. By this method, particular attention 
should be given to the selection of the land, using good 
apple land, to the preparation of the soil directly about 
the tree, and to cutting and utilizing the material, such 
as sedges, brakes, small brush, etc., that grows upon the 
land as a mulch, to prevent the escape of moisture and 
plant food that is being rapidly carried away during 
the summer by such growths. 

The advantages claimed for this system are, that 
the trees mature their wood earlier in the fall and 
consequently are less liable to injury than where con- 
stantly cultivated. The roots are protected from the 




Fig. 17— A Weeder 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

extremes of heat and cold, the cost of land is much 
less and the fruit is more firm, of better color and 
quality and will keep longer. 

While upon land that can be easily cultivated 
greater profit will probably be obtained by thorough 
and clean cultivation, the first cost of land is generally 
many times greater than that of land equally rich and 
well located that cannot be cultivated, and there are 
many notable instances where successful and profitable 
orchards have been grown under such conditions. In 
many sections of our country our farmers and fruit 
growers are land poor, i. e., they have more land than 
they can care for at a profit with the capital in hand, 
and the first point they should make, if about to 
enter into apple growing, is to find land suited to the 
growth of that fruit. If it can be cultivated easily 
there will be the most profit if it be thoroughly culti- 
vated, but if too rough and rocky for cultivation, profit- 
able crops can still be grown by applying plant food 
to the trees and keeping the grass, sedges, brakes, etc., 
cut so that they shall not carry away the moisture or 
plant food in their growth. 

I wish to repeat here, however, what is said on 
another page, that whatever system is followed, success 
will be obtained only when an abundance of plant food 
is provided, and the cheapest and best method of sup- 
plying this must be determined by each grower ; whether 
by the use of the cultivator or harrow and a moderate 
amount of plant food, or by the application of an 
abundance of plant food and the frequent cutting of 
the grass or mulch material found growing about the 
trees. The amount of fertilizers to be used can only 
be determined by a careful study of the trees, but 
enough must be applied to produce from six to ten inches 
of new wood each year. 



THE APPLE 29 

FERTILIZING AND CAEE OF ORCHARD 

Stable manure may always be used upon fruit 
trees, if properly applied, but it may do much harm 
if improperly used. It should be applied sparingly to 
young trees, unless the land is very poor, or an exhaust- 
ing crop is to be taken from the land that will feed 
largely upon the elements that tend to a coarse, woody 
growth, i. e., the nitrogenous elements. The best time 
to apply stable manure is in the fall or winter, on 
land that does not wash badly, or if very sloping it 
should be put on very early in the spring. Applied 
at this time the elements of plant food are made avail- 
able by the action of the frosts and an abundance of 
moisture in the early season of the growth of the trees, 
while if applied late in the spring the food is not made 
available until the middle of the summer and a late, 
coarse growth is produced that is liable to injury by 
cold or disease. 

When trees reach maturity and are bearing heavy 
crops of fruit, stable manure may be applied more 
freely, especially in the spring of the bearing year, 
for unless an abundance of plant food is supplied trees 
are often seriously injured by overbearing, particularly 
should the season prove a dry one. Such trees are in 
the condition of the overloaded and ill-fed horse or 
the overworked laborer, they are alike more liable to 
the attacks of contagious diseases than if more fully 
nourished. Trees that have been injured by overbear- 
ing may be improved very much by the application 
of nitrogenous manures the non-fruiting year. The 
effect of such an application at this time is to stimu- 
late the growth of the wood and lessen the development 
of the fruit buds. 

This illustrates a law that we find throughout all 
life, both animal and plant, that the causes or condi- 



30 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

tions that increase' the vigor of the stock or body 
decrease the reproductive forces, while with a decrease 
in the vigor of the body the reproductive forces are 
increased. Herein is a wise provision of nature for 
the perpetuation or preservation of species; for when 
the stock or body is vigorous there is no necessity for 
immediate provision for the future, but when the stock 
becomes weak nature makes an unusual effort to per- 
petuate the species by an increase of the reproductive 
powers. 

One of the greatest difficulties the fruit grower 
meets in his business is that of obtaining the necessary 
amount of plant food to produce his crops. This prob- 
lem is being solved in a measure by the large amount 
of commercial manures offered in our markets. Stable 
manure is not a complete fertilizer. It contains a 
larger per cent of nitrogenous elements than those of 
the mineral, and to produce a complete growth must be 
supplemented by adding potash and phosphoric acid. 
The kind of commercial fertilizer or manure that 
gives the best results in fruit growing to supplement 
stable manure or to be used alone, is fine ground fresh 
bones and potash. The best grades of bone contain 
sufficient nitrogen for most soils, but are deficient in 
potash, and if the land is very poor, potash and some 
other nitrogenous manure should be added, like nitrate 
of soda, sulphate of ammonia, stable manure, etc. 

For an acre of apple trees (forty trees), over ten 
years of age, the following formula will give good 
results, varying the quantity according to the condition 
of the soil, the growth of the trees and whether they 
are producing a crop of fruit or not the season of 
application: 

250 to 500 pounds fine ground bone 
100 to 300 pounds sulphate of potash 
50 to 150 pounds nitrate of soda 



THE APPLE 31 

Hardwood ashes, at the rate of from one to two 
tons per acre, with the same amount of fine ground 
bone, as in the above formula, will often give as good 
results. Another formula that would give good results 
under most conditions is 

400 to 600 pounds South Carolina rock (fine ground) 
100 to 300 pounds sulphate of potash 
100 to 300 pounds nitrate of soda 

An application of air slaked lime at the rate of 
from one-half to one ton per acre will sometimes produce 
remarkable results, especially where nitrate of soda is 
used, or if the soil is well supplied with organic matter. 

If the soil be very poor, as indicated by the slow 
growth of the trees, more nitrate of soda or some stable 
manure must be used. If the land is rich and the 
trees are making a large growth of wood, use only bone 
and potash or wood ashes. The effect of the nitrogenous 
elements is to increase the leaf action of the plant and to 
a large development of wood; that of the potash to 
cause a large development of starch and sugar in the 
plant and fruit; while the phosphoric acid tends to a 
large development of the seed or fruit. 

As with stable manure, the best time to apply 
fertilizers is late in the winter or very early spring, 
before growth begins, except those containing quickly 
soluble nitrates, as nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammo- 
nia, etc., which should be put on just as growth begins 
in the spring, and in some cases where growth is weak 
or when a large crop of fruit is to be matured, during 
the early summer. 

The above formulas may be varied by the grower 
from season to season, but not far from the above 
amounts will be needed to keep a good growth under 
average conditions. Bearing trees, to produce a good 
crop of fruit and not become exhausted, should make 
a new growth, as previously stated, of from six inches 



32 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

to one foot on the leading shoots. If they make more 
than this growth^ less fertilizer should be applied, if 
less growth is made, then apply more fertilizer. 

GREEN MANURING OR COVER CROPS 

To supply organic matter to the soil, to retain 
moisture and to gain nitrogen from the air and also to 
protect the roots from severe cold during the winter 
or drouth in summer, it is the practice of some orchard- 
ists to grow green manuring or cover crops in their 
orchards. The plants most used for this purpose are 
rye, oats, barley and the leguminous plants, peas, field 
beans, soy beans, cowpeas, crimson clover, alsike, the 
common red clover, etc. For the general purposes of 
fertilization the leguminous plants are the most val- 
uable, from the fact that they organize nitrogen froui 
the air while other plants only take what nitrogen they 
find already stored up in the soil. 

The value of any green crop for an orchard depends 
upon the amount and composition of the crop and the 
time when it makes its growth and can be turned under. 
If the crop makes its growth during the latter part of 
May and June, as with rye and spring sown oats, and 
the clovers, the trees are often seriously injured by loss 
of plant food and moisture when they most need it, 
especially in a dry season. 

Rye sown the last of August, and peas and oats 
sown very early in the spring, will be in condition to 
turn under by the last of May and, if the season is 
fairly moist, will prove very satisfactory, but should 
the season prove a dry one, serious injury may follow. 
Of the other grain crops, 

Barley, sown not later than the middle of August 
with about equal quantity of Canada or field peas (one 
and one-half bushels of each if sown broadcast), makes 
a good cover crop and utilizes the nitrogen of the soil 



THE APPLE 33 

and air until late in the season, covers the land during 
the winter and supplies a large amount of organic mat- 
ter to be turned under in the spring — April or early 
May — ^when we can work the land more easily and 
profitably than if done later in the season and perhaps 
with the greatest profit to the trees. 

Soy beans and cow peas produce a large amount of 
organic matter and collect much nitrogen fram the 
atmosphere, but they must be grown during the hot 
weather of summer, and do not grow and absorb nitro- 
gen from the atmosphere or save that in the soil from 
being lost after the first frost in the autumn as do 
peas planted with barley. If the seed is drilled in about 
the middle of August, the land kept cultivated and 
the frosts hold off until the middle or last of September, 
a good quantity of organic matter may be produced by 
these crops and no injury be done to the trees, but if 
grown through July and August and the season is dry, 
the trees would be seriously injured. The cover crops 
should be allowed to lie on the land during the winter 
if it is hilly to prevent washing. 

All of the clovers make their main growth during 
the months of May and June, and in thin soils are less 
valuable than crops that make their growth in the fall. 
But on land not subject to drouth clovers are especially 
valuable, as they take their nitrogen largely from the air 
and save such as may be developing in the soil during 
the fall and early spring that would be lost with a 
dead crop, like soy beans, cowpeas, or even peas and 
barley. As some of the nitrogen may be released 
during the month of May, trees will not be as much 
injured by the clover crops, however, as they would be 
with rye or spring sown oats. 

Field beans are grown in many orchards as a field 
crop, and if planted with a machine, and harvested, 
threshed and cleaned cheaply, will prove profitable, but 



34 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

frequent cultivation during the early summer must be 
given, and as ordinarily grown the profit is more likely 
to come from the increased value of the orchard crop 
than from the crop of beans. The haulm or stalks of 
the bean could be spread evenly over the land after 
the beans are threshed out, and be plowed under, or be 
worked in with a wheel harrow and add much to its 
ability to carry out a large crop of fruit. All things 
considered, the author prefers Canada peas and barley 
as a cover crop. Figure 18 shows a cover crop of 
peas and barley in winter with no snow cover on the 
land. 

MULCHING 

Without water in the soil, no fertilizer or manure 
will have much effect upon plant growth; and upon 
soils that are liable to injury from drouth, mulching in 
some form must be resorted to. In the cultivation of 
the land, the fine, loose layer of soil on top forms a 
most effectual mulch. This kind of a mulch is much 
to be preferred with perennial crops like the fruits, to 
hay, straw or any other mulch of organic matter, 
because the roots are kept deep in the soil where they 
are not as liable to injury from drouth or extreme cold 
in winter. 

If a mulch of hay or other organic matter is used, 
the layer of moist soil is formed just under the mulch, 
and when this decays, as it will in a year or two, it leaves 
the roots of the trees so near the surface as to be 
seriously injured by the first dry season or a very severe 
winter. This kind of a mulch is often employed while 
the fruit is ripening, with such varieties as the Graven- 
stein, Williams and others that do not color until nearly 
ripe, the falling fruit being gathered each morning. 
This is the practice of Mr. Samuel Hartwell of Lincoln, 
Mass., on his Gravenstein farm, where 2000 bushels of 



THE APPLE 



35 



this variety have been harvested in this way in one sea- 
son, bringing the highest prices in the Boston markets. 
Unless the mulch is to be kept np the hay should be 
removed from the ground as soon as the crop has been 





tarn Sk' -i '^' 4 



*^ Jisr; 






Fig. 18— Canada Peas and Barley as a Cover Crop 



gathered, or a late growth of the trees will result that 
may cause the winter injury to the bark, so common to 
this variety. 

PRUNING 

Ko one subject connected with fruit growing is 
more discussed in our agricultural and horticultural 
papers than that of pruning, and upon none is there 



36 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

a greater variety of practice and more abuse. An 
orchard may be ruined at the start with very little 
pruning if not properly done, or it may be put into 
condition to produce good results with an equally small 
amount of pruning if it be rightly done. 

The first year after the tree is planted it must 
have constant care. It is like a child, its first years of 
training determine its character or form. After the 
main branches have become fixed, as illustrated in 
Figure 7, all the pruning the trees require is to give 
symmetry and regular outline to the head by pinching 
oif the ends of those shoots that tend to outgrow the 
main branches and to remove such as are likely to be 
injured by rubbing together, or that are so thick as 
to interfere with good growth and ease in gathering 
the fruit. 

While young the trees should be allowed to grow 
with a rather close head, to protect the slender branches 
from the hot sun and air. When they begin to bear, 
the weight of fruit will bend down the branches and 
open the head, so that all the sunlight and air that is 
needed for the perfection of the foliage and fruit will 
enter ; and a large crop of perfect fruit cannot be borne 
on a tree without a large amount of foliage. The largest 
and best fruit is always borne upon those trees that 
have the largest and most perfect foliage. During the 
first five years of the tree's life, and perhaps longer, all 
the pruning needed can be done with the thumb and 
finger and the pocket knife, but as the trees grow older, 
unless the work has been very skillfully followed up, 
more severe pruning may be needed. Figure 8 illus- 
trates a perfect tree, Figure 9 the same in bloom. 

The cutting of large branches should be avoided, 
if possible, for "every blow struck at the tree will cer- 
tainly, in so much, shorten its life." It is true that 
severe pruning of the orchard in the winter or early 



THE APPLE 



37 



spring often results in a great increase in the size and 
quality of the fruit the following season and conse- 
quently many growers think they must prune their 
trees annually. The result of cutting olf a large quan- 
tity of the branches at one time is to greatly decrease 
the number of buds, and consequently those remaining 
having the same amount of the root force the whole tree 
would have had, will grow more rapidly, the foliage be 
more vigorous and the fruit larger and better, but if 
pruning is to be depended upon for an increase in size 
of fruit, only a few annual prunings could be given the 
trees before they would be destroyed. 

It is generally better to put the labor often ex- 
pended in pruning into thinning and spraying the fruit 
when the trees are overloaded, or the cost of this work 
into fertilizers, by which 
means a permanently in- 
creased vigor of the tree 
would result and much better 
fruit would be produced. 
From this statement I would 
not have the reader think 
that no pruning is needed 
after the trees begin to bear, 
for constant care is needed 
and more or less pruning 
must be done to keep the 
trees in good condition to 
produce large crops of good 
fruit, but many orchards have been ruined in a very 
short time by pruning. Figure 19 illustrates a tree 
too severely pruned, yet such is often to be found. In 
the frontispiece may be seen a tree in perfect condition. 
The following are some good rules for pruning fruit 
trees, subject, of course, to slight changes under vary- 
ing conditions: 




.'.In I -»» 



Flff. 19— Tree Pruned Too 
Severely 



38 



SUCCESSFUL FKUIT CULTURE 



1. To improve the form of trees that become one- 
sided from the influence of prevailing winds or other 
causes^ they should be pruned at the ends of the branches, 

shortening in those 
that are outgrowing 
their neighbors. Cut- 
ting off end shoots 
tends to an increased 
growth of the lateral 
branches and a close 
head; too much head- 
ing in may be done, 
but more orchardists 
prune too much from 
the inside and too 
4 shows a perfectly 
Figure 8 shows a 




Fig. 20— Drooping Branclies 



little from the outside. Figure 

formed tree twenty-five years old. 

perfectly formed tree twelve years old, pruned; Figure 

9 the same in bloom. 

2. If we insist on training our trees high enough to 
enable the team to drive close up 
to the base, the cutting of large 
branches from the main trunk is 
sometimes necessary; but this 
result may generally be avoided 
by cutting the drooping ends as 
in Figure 20, a a, at the dotted 
lines. If large branches must be 
Cut off, the cut should be made 
at dotted line 1), Figure 31, and 
not on line a. As has been pre- 
viously stated, the practice of 
many of the best orchardists is to 
train the trees low and depend upon the modern 
orchard harrows to keep the land cultivated under 
them. 



/ 




Fig. 21— Manner of "Cat- 
ting Large Branclief 



THE APPLE 



39 



3. To enable the pickers to gather the fruit easily 
it is the common practice to thin out the inside 
branches and to cut out all suckers or water sprouts. 
This may be done to a certain extent, but only upon 
branches that cross others, as seen in Figure 22, so as 
to injure one another. All branches that rest on those 
below them so as to shut out the sunlight too much, 
and all suckers that grow up into an already close 
head, should be cut away, and no more. A tree to pro- 
duce a large crop of apples must have a large full 
head, and when there 
is space above the 
suckers that is not 
well filled with 
branches one or more 
of these sprouts should 
be allowed to grow, 
for trees are often 
more injured by cut- 
ting away the shoots 
and exposing the 
branches to the hot 
sun and drying winds 
than by no pruning. A good time to cut off the surplus 
suckers is in the early summer, when they may be 
removed with the thumb and finger or with the pocket 
knife. 

4. The removal of dead branches is always in 
order, but if the trees have been properly cared for, 
fertilized, sprayed and not allowed to overbear, these 
should not appear until the trees are of great age. 
Dead branches are an indication of neglect or improper 
conditions of soil, and while pruning away such will 
not remove the cause, an orchard looks much better 
where any such blemishes are removed very soon after 
they appear. The best time to remove dead branches 




Pig. 22— Crossing Branches, the Dotted 
Line a Showing Where to Cut 



40 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



is while the foliage is upon the trees, as they can be 
more easily detected at this time. 

5. Eemove the weaker of two branches that are 
rubbing together. 

6. If one branch rests upon another, the weaker 
of the two should be removed. 

Covering Wounds — All cuts over one-half inch in 
diameter should be covered with some preservative as 




Fig. 23— Pruning Saw 



soon as the surface is dry, to prevent the decay of the 
wood. Among the materials used are linseed oil paint, 
gas tar, shellac, grafting wax, etc. All are good, but the 
iirst two of them being cheap and easily obtained, are 
perhaps the best preservatives and most commonly used. 




Fig. 24— Paragon Saw 



Gas tar should not be used too freely on young 
trees, nor over more space than the injured part, for 
if it spreads over the surface it may kill the adjoining 
tissue and do more harm than good. White lead mixed 
with linseed oil and colored with a little lampblack, 
chrome green and brown or red, will make a color almost 
like the bark of the tree. 

Implements for Pruning — For cutting large 
branches the saw should always be used, as it makes 



THE APPLE 



41 



a wound that can be easily covered. The axe should 
never be used for this purpose, as with each blow the 
wood is split in toward the center and a much larger 
wound made than when the saw is used. When large 
branches are cut off, the saw should be placed on the 
under side and from one-fourth to one-half of the 
thickness be cut here before the cut is made from the 
upper side, by which means 
splitting down or tearing ofi 
the bark is prevented. 

Many forms of saws are 
offered, but those with a 
long, slender blade (Figure 
23) are best, as they may 
be used when two branches 
come together, or they can 
be attached to a pole for 
cutting off small branches or 
suckers at considerable dis- 
tance from the ground. The 
Paragon curved saw, Figure 
24, with the teeth on the 
inner curve facing the 
handle and those on the 
outer curve facing the' point, 
is better than the straight 
form, as no pressing down 
upon the saw is required, 
only pushing or pulling to cause the teeth to cut into 
the wood. Most of the saws of this kind in the market 
have six or eight teeth to the inch, which causes them 
to cut slowly, while if they had five teeth to the inch 
they would cut much faster. 

The pruning hoolc (Figure 25) is a very useful 
tool, as with it small branches at the ends of the tree 
can be removed without using the ladder to reach them. 




Pig. 25— Pruning Hook 



42 . ^ SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

For very heavy work, as cutting off branches one inch or 
more in diameter, a larger hook may be made by any 
good blacksmith or machinist with a pole ten to twelve 
feet in length. 

Pruning shears (Figure 26) are. indispensable in 
the care of the orchard, as is also the pruning knife, 
which should be of good material and be kept where 
they will not rust; for such tools often rust out more 
quickly than they wear out. 

Time for Pruning — In this work we must keep in 
mind the rule practiced by most skilled orchardists that 




Fig. 26— Pruning Shears 



"we prune while the tree is dormant to increase growth, 
while we prune when the trees are in foliage to reduce 
growth.^^ In very few cases, if ever, do we find it 
necessary to check the growth of our trees, and therefore 
we would prune only from November to May. If we 
prune in the early winter the wound remains uncovered 
and dries in more deeply than if the work is done in 
March or April, and for this reason the author prefers 
the latter time. 

It is the practice of many orchardists when large 
branches are to be removed to cut them off, leaving the 
stubs from four to six inches long, and then in May or 
June to cut them close to the main branch or trunk, 
when the wound will heal over more rapidly than at any 



THE APPLE 43 

other time. This is a very good practice, but it is 
so difficult to find time during the rush of early sum- 
mer work that the author prefers to do the work all 
at once and have it out of the way. 

THINI^ING FRUIT 

No grower can expect to produce large and fine 
fruit, of good color and quality, if his trees are allowed 
to overbear, as most varieties will surely do if the fruit 
is not thinned. It seems like a great undertaking to 
go over large trees, and this is the strongest argument 
for low-headed trees, but the work can be done very 
rapidly by help who gain a little skill in the work. 
All imperfect or wormy fruit is picked and dropped to 
the ground, and if tha tree has set a large quantity of 
fruit no two apples should be nearer than three inches 
apart. 

The great advantages of thinning are: (1) All 
worms in the fruit picked off are destroyed. (2) No poor 
fruit will have to be picked and sorted. (3) The trees 
will not be as much weakened in maturing one-half 
or one-third the crop as if it carried the whole. (4) The 
fruit will be much larger, of better color and quality, 
and the remaining fruit will grow so much larger that 
the quantity will be equal to the whole unthinned crop 
and bring a much larger price. 

The cost of thinning must vary very much with 
the size and the hight of the trees, the quantity of 
fruit set and the skill of the workman. Based upon 
the cost in several orchards where thinning is practiced, 
the cost will range from ten cents to one dollar per 
tree. Even at the latter figure, with large trees of 
standard varieties, yielding from three to five barrels 
per tree, the difference in the value will pay for the 
labor and leave a good margin for profit. The range 
of prices between fancy apples and the ordinary grades 



44 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

is often one dollar to tliree dollars per barrel, which 
leaves a large margin for profit, while the improved 
condition of the trees for future crops is no inconsider- 
able item in favor of thinning the fruit. The time for 
this work will vary somewhat with different varieties, 
but it should be done as soon as the imperfect and wormy 
fruit can be detected. In doing the work great care 
must be taken that the spurs and leaves are not pulled 
off, for more. injury than good might result if very 
much of the foliage was removed in the process of 
thinning. 

AGE OF BEARING 

The average age at which the apple will begin to 
bear profitable crops is from ten to twelve years from 
planting in the orchard, varying somewhat according 
to the variety, the soil in which the trees are grown 
and the care given them. With proper treatment good 
crops of fruit should be realized for at least fifty years, 
although the average bearing age of the apple orchards 
of the country is much less. 

Odd Year Bearing — In most orchards large crops 
of fruit are produced only upon alternate years and this 
bearing year has become more or less fixed upon the 
even year in most Northern fruit sections. The cause of 
this condition may be climatic, as a severe late frost or 
freeze, a long storm while the trees are in bloom. It 
may be due to overbearing one season, which results in 
the exhaustion of the tree, requiring one or more years 
thereafter to develop fruit buds again. Drouth for a 
succession of seasons may also bring on the same con- 
ditions, as may the depredations of canker worms or 
other insects. In 1884 a severe frost or freeze occurred 
on the night of May 30 in the western part of Massa- 
chusetts, and upon the southern and eastern slopes the 
young fruit was frozen and the crop destroyed, while 



THE APPLE 45 

the following season all the trees that lost their fruit 
in 1884 bore the heaviest crop that was ever known 
in 1885. 

The bearing year may be changed: 

1. By removing a part or all of the fruit the bear- 
ing year soon after it is set. One operation is often 
successful if thoroughly done, but sometimes must be 
repeated. This should be practiced upon young trees 
until the habit desired has become fixed. 

2. By manuring the land the bearing year with 
bone and potash or bone and wood ashes, which has a 
tendency to increase the vigor of the trees and to the 
formation of fruit buds; or by using nitrogenous ma- 
nures, like stable manure, nitrate of soda, etc., the 
unfruitful year, which will produce a large growth of 
wood at the expense of the fruit buds. 

3. Seeding the land to grass the bearing year 
might produce the same result, but there would be 
danger that the crop of fruit and the crop of grass 
on the land the same year might result in too great 
a check upon the growth of the trees. 

4. ^ Plowing the orchard the unfruitful year and 
cultivating thoroughly the bearing year would also tend 
to produce the desired change. 

5. Changing of the bearing year by canker worms 
destroying the blossoms, by the use of torch to destroy 
the blossoms, or a frost > destroying the fruit after it 
has set, while they may bring the desired change, cannot 
be recommended, because of the direct injury to the 
trees, and in the business of fruit growing it is desirable 
to economize the strength of the trees as much as pos- 
sible if continued good results are expected. 

REGRAFTING OLD TREES 

TTpon most of our farms, especially in the older 
portions of the country, may be found healthy, vigorous 



46 



SUCCESSFUL FKUIT CULTURE 



trees that produce only cider apples or fruit that is not 
in demand in the market. These trees often occupy 
valuable land, or from their producing fruit of no value 
are not cared for, only serving as a breeding place for 
the canker worm, tent caterpillar, codlin moth, apple 





■««s*s^:#i?'®!v^^5^, ■'- 




Figr. 27— Regrafted Tree, Three Years from Grafting 



maggot and other injurious insects, and should either 
be cut down or regrafted with varieties that have some 
market value. If the trunks of such trees are sound 
and the growth is fairly vigorous, they may be regrafted 
at little expense and in from three to five years produce 



THE APPLE 



47 



a large crop of fruit. If the trees are not growing 
vigorously it will be found profitable to apply some 
stable manure or commercial fertilizer to them the sea- 
son before grafting, as cions are much more sure to 
grow in a vigorous stock than in one that is growing 
slowly. Figure 27 shows a regrafted tree three years 
from grafting. 

Cleft Grafting — ^The kind of grafting most prac- 
ticed in renovating old trees is called cleft grafting, 
because the cion is inserted in the cleft of the stock. 
It consists in first cutting off as many branches, from 
one to two inches in diameter (which are called 
stocks), as are needed to make a full head, if the 
whole tree is to be grafted. 
This number will vary from 
ten to perhaps twenty, ac- 
cording to the size of the 
tree. It is often the prac- 
tice to graft only a part of 
the tree the first year, com- 
pleting the work the second 
year, by which means the 
trees do not receive a severe 
check in growth. After the stocks are cut off with 
a fine-toothed saw, cutting at a point where the 
split will be straight grained, they are pared smoothly. 
Then, beginning with the highest cleft, each stock is 
split with the blade of the grafting chisel, Figure 28, 
which should be made with a hook for convenience in 
hanging it on a branch or on the handle of a basket 
while working. The blade is now driven out by a blow 
upon the head of the wedge, and the wedge driven into 
the cleft to keep it open until the cion is inserted. 

The cion. Figure 29, is a piece of firm, mature 
wood of last season's growth, taken from the outside 
shoots of vigorous bearing trees, two or three inches long 




Pig. 28— arafting Chisel and 
Wedge 



48 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 





n 


;) 


1 

1 


( 

I' 


"1 



Fig. 29— Cion 



and containing from two to three buds. The cion is 
cut wedge shaped, lengthwise, as shown to the left of 
the figure, with the inner edge thinner than the outer, 

as seen in cross section. It 

is a great advantage to have a 

bud on the. outer part of the 

wedge, as shown at a. Figure 

30, as a branch formed below 

the top of the cleft, as at a, 

will make a much stronger 

union than if it unites only 

on top, as at b. The cion 

must be cut with a sharp, 

thin-bladed knife, with one 

quick, clean stroke on each f''^* ^®-p"?^*= 

Side, feome practice will be oi wedge 

required to make a clean 
flat cut on each side that shall press closely to the sides 
of the cleft in its entire length. The cion is then 
inserted in the cleft with its cambium layer, or inner 

bark, in close contact 
with that of the stock, 
Figure 3 1, a; the 



£4^P?l^ 



Pig. 32 

thicker part of the cion 
at a, being placed out- 
ward, so that when the 
wedge is withdrawn the pressure of the stock will be 
such that the cambium layers, where union can only 
take place, are brought firmly together. Two cions are 





Fig. 31— Horizontal View of Cleft Graft 



THE APPLE 



49 




Pi 


^1 


I 

i 


* 


tj 


4 



Fig. 33 — Per- 
spective View 
of Graft 



inserted for safety, and if both grow one is cut out the 

following season. 

A horizontal view of the completed cleft graft is 

shown in Figures 31 and 32, while a perspective view is 
shown in Figure 33. Should 
the stock be small, less than 
an inch in diameter, it should 
be drawn firmly together with 
a strong string after the cions 
have been inserted. In case 
very large stocks, more than 
two inches in diameter, must 
be grafted, it is better either 
to make two- clefts, as in Fig- 
ure" 34, and insert four cions, ^^^' 34-Four 

' f. 1 1 Grafts In- 

or to crown graft them by serted 
inserting the cions under the 
bark after it will peel, and not split the stock. 

The many methods of grafting, not described here, 
may be found fully explained in Fuller's or other books 
on propagation, to which the reader is referred. The 
points to be kept distinctly in mind in cleft grafting are : 

1. A clean, smooth cut. 

2. A perfect union of the inner bark or cambium 
layers of the stock and cion. 

3. Eapid work that the cut parts may not be long 
exposed to the air. 

4. A perfectly air and water tight covering to 
cover all the cut parts. 

After the cions have been put in and the wedge 
taken out, the whole cut surface must be covered with 
grafting wax, to exclude both air and moisture. 

Grafting Wax — A very good article of grafting wax 
may be purchased of seedsmen and dealers in nursery- 
men's supplies, or it may be made as follows: 

1. Melt together equal parts of beeswax, rosin and 



50 SUCCESSFUL FKUIT CULTURE 

tallow; or, in place of the tallow, one-fourth as much 
linseed oil. The mixture should be allowed to become 
slightly cool, when it may be turned out into water and 
then "worked^^ or drawn until it is tough and plastic. 
If grafting is to be done in cool weather more tallow 
may be used, or if in hot weather, more rosin is desirable. 

2. 1 pound tallow. 

1 pound beeswax. 
1-4 pound rosin. 

3. 1 pound tallow. 

2 pounds beeswax. 
4 pounds rosin. 

Use melted with brush. Luther Burbank's formula. 

4. 1 pound tallow. 

2 pounds beeswax. 
4 pounds rosin. 
2 ounces alcohol. 

The writer has found a very hard wax, softened 
with alcohol. Formula 4, so as to be applied with a putty 
knife, a great convenience. In the Formulas 1 and 2 
if double the amount of rosin is used, and when a little 
cooled, so as not to ignite the alcohol, about an ounce 
of the latter is added, it will keep the wax plastic and 
it can be very quickly applied with the putty knife. 

The cions should be cut some time before the 
work of grafting is to be done, some nurserymen pre- 
ferring to have them cut before freezing much in the 
early winter, but unless one has a good place to store 
them more injury may result while being kept than 
if they remained on the tree. Cions of apples and 
pears may be cut only a few days before the work is 
to be done. The best place in which to keep cions is 
in moist sawdust in an icehouse. It is the practice of 
§ome of our best nurserymen to tie them in bundles^ 
wrap them in sawdust covered with burlap, let them 



THE APPLE 51 

freeze and 'then put upon the ice. In this way they 
may be kept dormant as long as is needed for any kind 
of grafting. In cleft grafting two cions are generally 
inserted to insure success, one of which is cut away if 
both grow. Only the branches to be used for clefts are 
cut off at the time of grafting, many small lateral 
branches being allowed to grow, for to remove all buds 
and branches would give the tree too severe a check. 

After Care — ^AU suckers that come out near the 
cions during the summer should be removed, that the 
force of growth may all go to the cions. If the buds 
from the cion tend to grow with so great vigor as to 
be easily broken by the wind, it is well to pinch off the 
ends before they are thus injured, for by such accidents 
the work may be put back often more than one year. 
The best time for grafting the apple and pear is when 
the buds are beginning to swell rapidly, but unless 
crown grafting is practiced, the bark should not peel 
readily when the work is being done. 

VARIETIES 

At the present time not less than one thousand 
varieties of apples of some merit are more or less culti- 
vated, many of which may be of considerable value in 
certain localities. Of the numerous varieties that have 
been described in more extensive works on fruit culture, 
probably not more than ten can be said to be thoroughly 
hardy, productive and profitable in any one section of 
the country. In the West many varieties succeed that 
are of no value in the East, and vice versa. 

The inexperienced fruit grower must decide what 
kinds are best for him to plant by consulting his com- 
mission men and dealers as to what kinds are in demand 
at paying prices, and his neighbors and other successful 
fruit growers as to what kinds are the most productive, 
most free from insects and that succeed in certain kinds 



62 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

of soil, exposure or conditions of growth. In every State 
of the Union the horticulturists of the experiment sta- 
tions are making tests of varieties and each can advise as 
to the probable value of any variety within his own State 
and is ready to assist any and all to the extent of his 
ability in all of the different problems that often beset 
the experienced as well as the inexperienced. 

It is the experience of almost every orchardist that 
too many varieties are planted. In different localities 
different varieties are popular, are known to the consum- 
ers, and only those will sell until they become familiar 
with new or better varieties, yet any of the many good 
kinds, if of good size and color, are sure to sell well after 
one or two seasons in the market, and the better the 
quality the more popular will they become. For thi^ 
reason it will be safe to plant any of the standard i 
sorts that grow well in a given locality and produc:> 
large and fair, well colored fruit. 

New Varieties — Few, if any, of the varieties in 
general cultivation may be called perfect, and it is the 
part of wisdom for each grower to test, on a limited 
scale, some of the more promising new kinds or those 
that have become prominent in other sections or other 
markets, to determine if some other variety than those 
already grown may not be more profitable. Each kind, 
however, is found to succeed better in one locality, or 
perhaps upon one kind of soil, than another, or may be 
more profitable from its being well known in certain 
markets, and one must go slowly and grow the main 
crop of the ^^old reliables" until the merits of any new 
varieties are positively known. 

CLASSIFICATION' OF VARIETIES 

For convenience of description and determination 
of varieties perhaps the best classification is that adopted 
by the late J. J. Thomas, in his book entitled American 



THE APPLE 53 

Fruit Culturist, in which all varieties are arranged into 
three groups, i. e., summer, autumn and winter. Each 
of these groups is again divided into sweet and sour 
and these again into those that are striped and not 
striped, as follows: 



Summer 



Sweet i ^t-^iP^^. _, 
( Not striped 

Sour i^'l^'^f. , 
( jST ot striped 

f Sweet ll*'^'?^^ . - 
Autumn J ] Not striped 

1 Sour ]^*"P\^. , 
1^ ( JN ot striped 



Winter^ 



( Not striped 
^ ( Striped 

^^ ( Not striped 

By the above arrangement one may trace the variety 
to its description and name if too many varieties are 
not grown in a given locality. 

Standard Varieties — In this list I shall only in- 
clude those varieties that are especially desirable and 
profitable in many sections of the country and especially 
in New England and the northern Middle States. For 
a more extended description of varieties I would refer 
the reader to that valuable and complete work, Down- 
lug's Fruits and Fruit Trees of America, the reports 
and bulletins of the horticulturists of the numerous 
experiment stations, the reports of the leading horticul- 
tural societies, and especially that of the American 
Pomological Society, in which the varieties most valu- 
able in each locality are specified. 

SUMMER VARIETIES 

Red AstracJian — Large, flattened, beautifully col- 
ored apple of Eussian origin. The flesh is very white. 



54 SUCCESSFUL riiUIT CULTURE 

crisp and tender, but rather acid for table use. -The 
tree is vigorous, upright, with large foliage, hardy and 
productive. To be most profitable this variety and 
Early Williams must be allowed to ripen on the tree, 
and be picked from time to time as it colors, or hay 
may be spread under the branches for the fruit to 
drop upon. 

Williavis — A favorite table apple wherever known. 
Large, oblong, conical, brilliantly colored when ripened 
on the tree, but if picked before colored it fails to take 
on the beautiful colors which make it so attractive 
in the market. Quality good, of a mild sub-acid flavor. 

AUTUMN VARIETIES 

Oldenburg — Of Eussian origin; fruit large, round, 
yellow striped with red, of a mild acid flavor and valu- 
able for cooking and table use. Tree productive and 
comes into bearing early; needs thinning to produce 
fruit of the best size. 

Gravenstein — Perhaps the most valuable of all 
fall apples, and one that^by means of cold storage can 
be put on the market for two months. It succeeds best 
on a deep, sandy loam, but on a strong clay or clayey 
loam soil is liable to be injured by the action of frost 
upon the bark of the trunk. The tree is remarkable 
for its vigorous growth and is a good bearer. 

Wealthy — No new apple has attracted so much 
interest as this. It promises to fill a long felt need 
for a showy apple of good quality for shipping to 
European markets. It is in perfect condition in Sep- 
tember, but will keep for a month or more with ordi- 
nary care and much longer in cold storage. Its great 
beauty, fine texture and fine quality will make a market 
for it anywhere, and its firmness in texture will insure 
its exporting in good condition. The fruit is medium 
to large in size and of the most brilliant color. The 



THE APPLE 55 

tree is moderately vigorous and begins to bear early and 
is very productive. 

Mcintosh — An old variety originating in Canada, 
but now attracting attention on account of its great 
beauty and fine quality. It ripens with the Wealthy 
and Gravenstein. In some localities it is reported to 
be not very productive, and is often subject to the attack 
of the apple scab, like its parent, the Fameuse. 

Fall Pippin — A large apple, somewhat resembling 
the Ehode Island Greening; large, with a white, firm 
flesh, often with some blush on the exposed side. The 
tree is vigorous and moderately productive; valuable 
especially for cooking, September to December. 

WINTER APPLES 

Baldivin — A bright red apple of medium to large 
size, of fair quality and a good keeper. Tree vigorous, 
and generally thought to be more productive in the 
Eastern States than any other variety. In many sections 
of the country the fruit is badly affected with the 
"brown" or "dry-rot," which attacks it when it is ripen- 
ing. When these spots are numerous, the fruit, which 
looks well on the outside, is of little value and seriously 
injures the demand for other kinds. 

Ben Davis — A large, red-striped apple, that is val- 
uable for its late keeping qualities only, being so poor 
in quality that few people will buy them a second time. 
Tree vigorous and very productive. 

Fameuse (or Snow Apple) — Fruit of medium size, 
of deep red color and with a remarkably white flesh; 
very juicy, crisp and of the finest quality, tree vigor- 
ous and productive. It is a very valuable dessert fruit, 
and when well grown, upon rich soil and the fruit 
thinned, it is of good size and profitable. 

Hubhardsion — A large, oblong, conical, early winter 
apple of fine sub-acid quality. The tree is moder- 



56 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

ately vigorous and very productive. A valuable dessert 
fruit. 

Washington Boyal (Palmer Greening) — An early 
winter apple of a light green color, often shaded with 
bright red on the exposed side, changing to a golden 
yellow when ripe, and is sure to sell when well grown. 
The tree is of rather slow growth, but under good 
conditions makes a good size, and is very productive. 
Time of ripening, from January to March. 

Sutton Beauty — This apple is much like the Bald- 
win in form and color, but a little smaller in size. In 
quality it is better than the latter and is free from the 
brown spots under the skin when ripening, so common 
to the Baldwin. The tree is vigorous, upright and 
compact in growth, and very productive. It is being 
largely planted in place of the Baldwin, especially in 
New England, where it originated. 

Rhode Island Greening — Everywhere known as a 
very good early winter apple, succeeding almost every- 
where; excellent both for cooking and for the table. 
Tree rather spreading in form, vigorous and productive. 

Ki7ig (Tompkins Co. King) — A very large, 
striped apple of good quality, showy, but coarse and 
often imperfect. Profitable in New York State and 
some Western sections, but not in New England. 

Eoxbury Russet — An acid, round, russet apple, 
valued especially for its late keeping qualities. Tree 
vigorous, productive, but requires a rich soil. 

Spy (Northern Spy) — In quality one of the best, 
but succeeds only in certain sections. The tree is vigor- 
ous, upright in habit, but comes late into bearing. It 
makes a very valuable stock upon which to top-graft 
slow growing kinds. 

YorJc Imperial — An apple that is attracting atten- 
tion for shipping, and in English and other European 
markets it brings the highest prices. In form it is 



THE APPLE 57 

round, oblique, of a deep red color and good quality. 
It is one of the best keepers, and promises to be one of 
the most profitable varieties. 

Newtown Pippin (Albemarle Pippin) — This 
variety is of only local value, as it succeeds only in a 
few sections, but where it can be grown it is very 
profitable. It somewhat resembles the Rhode Island 
Greening, but is smoother, more beautiful and of better 
quality. It is well known in European markets, where 
it brings the highest prices. 

SWEET APPLES 

Sweet Bough — A large, pale yellow apple, juicy and 
good; valuable for home consumption. Early sweet 
apples are not generally in large demand in most mar- 
kets, but a limited amount will sell at good prices 
and this is one of the best in its season. 

PumpJcin Sweet — A very large apple, oblate in 
form, with more or less •russet over the whole surface. 
In quality very sweet and cooks well, though the texture 
is rather coarse. Tree remarkably vigorous and moder- 
ately productive. Much subject to the attack of the 
apple maggot. 

Ladies Sweet — One of the best winter sweet apples. 
It is of medium to large size, roundish-conical in form 
and nearly covered with red ; sweet, crisp, tender and 
a good keeper; tree moderately vigorous and pro- 
ductive. 

Jacob's Sweet — Large, light green, changing to a 
light yellow and shaded with a bright red on the sunny 
side. One of the largest and best early winter sweet 
apples and a fairly good keeper. 

ADDITION'AL VARIETIES 

Summer — Early Harvest, Alexander, Yellow 
Transparent, Golden Sweet. 



58 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

Autumn — Twenty Ounces, Leicester Sweet, Con- 
gress, Pomme Eoyal. 

Winter — Fallawater, Grimes Golden, Jonathan, 
Lady Apple, Danvers Sweet, Wolf River. 

GATHERING APPLES 

Summer apples should be picked, if for market, 
as soon as mature but before they become mellow, and 
be sent to -market at once or put in cold storage. Yel- 
low or green varieties require the greatest care in pick- 
ing and packing and must be handled so that the skin 
will not be broken or the tissues below the skin injured. 
For cooking purposes the fruit may all be picked at 
once, but for table use or to supply fruit stands, some 
varieties will sell well only when they are allowed to 
color on the tree. 

It is the practice of many growers who supply a 
local market to spread two or three inches of hay under 
the tree and allow the fruit to fall as it matures. 
Such varieties as the Gravenstein, Williams, etc., treated 
in this way become very beautifully colored and bring 
better prices than if picked from the tree. The cost of 
picking is also much less. For long distance shipping, 
however, this could not be practiced. 

As a rule, the sooner after maturing summer and 
autumn varieties are picked, and in the market, the bet- 
ter and the more profitable they are to the grower. Win- 
ter apples should not be picked until fully grown, but 
should be secured before severe freezing weather takes 
place, and always before the mellowing process begins, 
to have them keep well. It is pretty well settled that 
apples picked early in autumn, i. e., before October 
10th, will keep longer than if picked later, though they 
may not be as large, well colored or of as good quality. 

Apples should never be shaken from the tree, as 
not one in ten thus gathered will fail to receive -some 



THE APPLE 59 

injury. The- fruit should be picked by hand into baskets 
suspended by hooks to the ladder or to a branch near 
where the ladder is placed, be taken to the ground and 
carefully placed in piles or in barrels or boxes, to be 
carried to some cool place for packing. It requires 
some skill to do so simple a thing as to pick apples 
properly. If the stem is pulled out, the beauty of the 
fruit is injured, as well as its keeping qualities. If the 
apples are pulled off, the spur with its fruit buds is 
often broken and the crop for the next year destroyed. 
In picking, ihe thumb or forefinger is placed against 
the stem and the apple turned completely over, when, 
with the pressure of the finger, the stem separates from 
the tree at the proper place, and neither tree nor fruit 
is injured. 

For picking tender fleshed varieties, like the Pal- 
mer Greening, Fameuse, etc., the basket should be lined 
with burlap, or some other cloth, to prevent bruising. 
For picking specimens beyond the reach of the ladder, 
some of the hand pickers are very serviceable. For 
getting into the tops of large trees long ladders 
are indispensable, and several lengths should be in 
readiness, all made of straight 
grained, light lumber and well 
seasoned. All ladders should be 
thoroughly painted and be kept 
housed when not in use, other- 
wise they decay very rapidly, and 
a weak ladder is a dangerous 
thing to work with. Extension, 
ladders are found very conven- 
ient. The common stepladder 

will be found indispensable, es- pig. 3S— Orchard stepladder 

pecially for the low branches 

and low-headed trees. One of the best forms of step- 
ladders is shown in Figure 35. The two main legs of the 




60 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

ladder come together at the top and the third leg is 
bolted in between them, thus forming a tripod, and if 
the two main legs are three or more feet apart, it will 
stand very firmly. This ladder is more cheaply made 
than the common form of stepladders, occupies less space, 
and the top being pointed, it can be placed in among 
the branches much better than the common ladders. 
The main legs of the six-foot ladder should be two and 
one-half feet apart, the eight-foot ladder three feet and 
the ten-foot three and one-half feet apart. 

After picking the fruit many growers put it in 
piles under the trees and sort and pack from the ground. 
But this is a very slow and hard way of doing the work, 
for no one can work to advantage in such a position. 
If the fruit is to be packed in the orchard, a much 
better way is to put it into a low wagon body that 
stands just high enough for comfortable working and 
sort and pack as the fruit is picked, moving the wagon 
along as the trees are finished. A sorting box or tray is 
also sometimes used, it being moved along from time to 
time as is needed. This box should be made with three 
legs, so as to stand firmly on uneven land and slope 
to the sorting end from three to four inches, so that 
the fruit will work toward the sorter. 

Some of the largest growers in the country put into 
barrels as they are picked and take them directly to a 
cool, open shed or barn, or to a cold storage room. Here 
they may be kept until all the fruit is safely housed 
before it is sorted and then be packed. If help is abun- 
dant, unless the fruit is to be kept for a late market, 
it is just as well to pick and pack in the field as it 
comes from the trees, but if help is not abundant, or 
if the crop is very large, it is best to get the fruit into 
a cool place as soon as possible. 

One of the best methods is that practiced by the 
veteran fruit grower of Massachusetts, Dr. Jabez Fisher 



THE APPLE 



61 



flD- 



-IBI 



i& 



of Fitchburg, wbo uses a bushel box with a corner piece 
nailed on each corner, as shown in Figure 36. This 
piece is seven-eighths of an inch thick 
and allows the air to circulate over the 
fruit enough to carry off 
the surplus moisture and 
3^et not enough to cause it 
to wilt. The boxes of fruit 
are placed in the cold stor- 



as 



<t3 



Fig. 36 — Conven^^ age rOOm Or cellar in piles. Fig. 37— Boxes in 



lent Bushel Box 



as shown in Figure 37, and 



Storage 



not disturbed until it is to be sorted for market. Any 
kind of a box might be used, but the common bushel 
market box is very convenient to handle, it packs to 
good advantage and is cheap. 



ASSORTING APPLES 

A great deal of skill is required to sort apples so 
that they will give the most satisfaction to the buyer 
and the best returns to the grower. In connection with 
many large orchards, or in large apple growing sections, 
large cold storage buildings are constructed with can- 
ning and evaporating appliances, so that all the No. 2'3 
and those often called "cider" apples are worked off 
and only No. 1 fruit is put into barrels. In sorting 
fruit, where there is no evaporating or canning plant, 
the fruit is divided in two grades, No. 1 and No. 2 for 
packing, and cider apples that are generally sold in bulk. 
The standard for grading varies very much with differ- 
ent individuals and with different localities, but few 
packers put up their fruit so as to get the best results. 
The standard of No. 1 and No. 2 fruit also varies greatly. 
It does not matter so much as to the size of the fruit 
as to its perfeetness and even grade, yet the larger the 
fruit, other things being equal, the better will be the 
price at which it will sell. If we could grade our apples 



62 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

as oranges are graded, they would, without doubt, bring 
much higher prices than they now do. But this cannot 
be done cheaply by hand, and no machine has been 
found satisfactory. 

No. 1 apples should be perfectly smooth, above two 
and one-half inches in diameter, of good color and free 
from all blemishes, such as worm holes and other marks 
that break through the skin. As commonly grown 
there is but little such fruit to be found, but by spraying 
and thinning, and more and better fertilization and 
care, a large per cent of the fruit should be No. 1. 
No amount of skill or care in sorting will make good 
fruit; the place to begin is at the roots and follow 
this up to branch, leaf and fruit with the best modern 
practice. 

PACKAGES AND PACKING 

In most parts of the country the barrel is almost 
wholly used for storing and shipping apples and it has 
many valuable features. It is cheap and easily obtained ; 
it can be handled by rolling more easily than any other 
package of its size, but it has many disadvantages also. 
It contains a larger amount of fruit than most families 
care to buy at once, and it does not pack to advantage, 
either in the cellar or in shipping. Many attempts have 
been made to introduce a more convenient package, but 
it has not been successful. For local markets, the bushel 
box is largely in use. It is a cheap .package, costing 
only ten cents or less, and it is the practice in most 
places to return an empty box when a full one is 
brought into the market and thus one lot of boxes may 
be made to last a whole season. The fruit is rather 
more easily and firmly packed in barrels than in boxes, 
the round form and bulging sides allowing the fruit 
to settle together better than when packed in boxes. 
Only clean barrels of the standard size should be used. 



THE APPLE 63 

New ones are of course to be preferred, but cost more 
than second-hand flour barrels. The former can be 
bought for about thirty to forty cents each, while the 
latter will cost from ten to twenty cents, according to 
the quantity purchased. Many growers secure a supply 
from time to time, as they are ready, from grocers or 
boarding houses and get them at low prices. The bar- 
rels thus obtained will need more or less repairing and 
should be put into good shape before the crop is ready 
to harvest. The heads should be looked over and 
matched up and placed one on top of another in barrels, 
so as to be ready for use without delay. They are 
cleaned by washing and drying. First the flour and 
dirt are brushed out, then a pailful of water poured in 
and with an old broom the inside washed. This water 
is then poured into another barrel and thus three or 
four barrels can be washed with one water. 

A layer of choice specimens is first placed on the 
bottom of the barrel with the stem down, and while 
finely colored specimens should be used for this they 
should not be very much better than 
those of the remaining part of the m^^ ^ 
barrel. 

The barrel is then filled up with 
choice fruit, shaking it from side to 
side several times as it is being filled. 
It should be filled two or three 
inches above the top of the barrel 
and be made as level as possible. 
The head is now put on and the 
screw press, Figure 38, adjusted. 
This press is much more convenient pj^^ 38-5crew Press 
than that fixed on a platform, as it 
can be carried from tree to tree. Figure 39 shows a 
lever press. Sometimes a false head with a lining of 
canvas or wadding is put on first, to prevent bruising the 



64 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 




Fig. 39— Lever Press 



fruit, as it is pressed in place, and then tlie permanent 
head is put on, pressed in place and nailed firmly. The 

, head is now further fastened in 
place by nailing small, round 
sticks, called "liners," firmly 
across the ends or the parts of 
the head. Some packers loosen 
the hoops before the head is 
pressed in, while others cut off 
a strip from one piece of the 
head and then press it in 
without starting the hoops. 
The latter way is the quicker, 
and if carefully done is just as 
well. The corrugated paper board cover should be used 
where much pressure is required, as for shippers to 
Europe. 

More care must be exercised in filling the barrels 
for exporting than for home markets. Some of the 
fruit will be injured in pressing in the head, and the 
pressure should be only enough to keep the fruit from 
shaking in transportation. The name of the variety, the 
quality, and the name of the grower are to be neatly 
stenciled on the faced end of the barrel, which should 
be made smooth and clean, if it is not so when the 
packing begins. It is the practice of many growers 
to put their name only on the Ko. 1 fruit, the seconds 
going to market with only the name of the variety and 
the grade upon the barrel. 

In packing in boxes the bottom of the box is taken 
off, a head is nailed on with half-inch openings, and 
the fruit is faced as with the barrel and then filled in 
the same way, pressing it so that it will not shake in 
shipping. Many attempts have been made to ship 
apples in boxes to the English market, but in very 
few cases have they been successful, the boxes being 



THE APPLE 65 

packed so closely and solidly in the hold of the vessels 
as to heat, and if they are shaken about they strike 
more solidly than when in barrels. Yet because of the 
ease of handling, -the smaller package and the fact that 
the box contains nearer the amount that is required 
for immediate consumption, the box will in time be 
sure to come into more general use. 

MARKETING APPLES 

In seasons of scarcity the crop of apples is not 
sufficient to supply the demand for home consumption 
and in seasons when the crop is large our people could 
consume it if it were distributed to all parts and eco- 
nomically handled. Every season more or less quantity 
is shipped to English or other European markets, and 
when it is of good quality and well packed it often 
brings paying prices. The first and most important 
condition of success in shipping apples to foreign mar- 
kets is good quality, the second is firm fruit, and the 
third is good packing. Fruit put into either of these 
markets in the above conditions is sure to sell at paying 
prices. The quantity shipped from America in the past 
has varied from 81,552 to 3,395,594 barrels. The con- 
ditions of the foreign markets vary much according to 
the crops at home and the quantity of fruit that is 
shipped at one time, and another thing that is against 
English or European trade is the fact that the fruit is 
sold at once on receipt, ilo matter how much there 
m^y be in the market at the time, there being no facili- 
ties for holding it over until the surplus is worked off. 
When our shippers will have agents at the ports of 
shipment, with facilities for holding the fruit in case 
of surplus, prices can be maintained and almost certain 
profits be realized. 

The home market, however, is the one that we must 
depend upon for the consumption of our apple crop. 



66 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

for our people do not have all the fruit they should 
have for health and comfort, and the fruit can be 
delivered to the home market at a very little cost for 
transportation and package. There would be also a 
large saving in that the money now spent for foreign 
fruit would be kept at home. But this economy may 
not be needful, as the majority of our people are able to 
use large quantities of both home and imported fruit; 
the more fruit our people consume the better health 
they will possess. For the home market, the same 
conditions hold as to quality and packing as for foreign 
markets, but perhaps more emphasis should be placed 
upon quality, for our people can afford to pay as high 
prices as any people in the world, and the rule which 
governs the sale and price of other fruit commodities 
affects more or less the apple crop also, i. e., that the 
more good fruit a market has the more it will take at 
reasonable prices and the tendency will be to an upward 
price, unless there is an overproduction, and the over- 
supply must be prevented by finding a market for the 
surplus in other countries. 

Facilities are now such that we can send any prod- 
uct to the remotest part of our country, and the home 
markets should be investigated before any attempt to 
supply foreign markets is made. The weather and crop 
reports made by the government and published in the 
agricultural papers, are generally accurate and will help 
the fruit grower to decide where to send his fruit — 
whether to hold, or to sell from^ the orchard. Where 
a fair price is offered, it is generally best to sell directly 
from the orchard, unless one has good facilities for stor- 
ing, for there will always be a great deal of waste from 
keeping and the extra cost of handling is an item that 
must be carefully considered. 

In most sections of the country the apple crop is 
bought up by dealers and it is important that the 



THE APPLE 67 

grower know the conditions of the crop, both in this 
country and abroad, in order to know at what prices 
to sell or whether to hold. As with most products grown 
on a small scale, it is best to have the crop sold by 
co-operative unions, or by commission dealers, unless 
one has a retail trade where he can deliver directly to 
his customers, but where the product is large the grower 
can often do as well to go into the market alone and 
sell at as high prices as can be obtained by unions or 
commission men. The most marked tendency of the 
times is concentration and combination, and all kinds 
of produce are being put into the hands of large com- 
mission houses, where the retail dealer can find just 
what he wants and in any quantity he may desire. 
The consumer, too, goes to the large retailer and expects 
to find anything that may be needed in the way of 
fruit or vegetables and does not like to wait for the 
truck peddler to come around. The cost of selling is 
thus very much reduced, but the profit generally goes 
into the pockets of the commission men. Until the fruit 
growers join hands and put their products into a few 
large sales places and have it all graded in the same 
way, they cannot expect to control the market as to 
supply or price. 

STORING FRUIT 

Every fruit grower should have some place where 
he can hold his product for a longer or shorter time, 
in order to keep it from rapid decay in hot weather 
and to regulate the supply for market. It very often 
happens that in extremely hot weather small fruits 
may be cooled off by putting them into a cold storage 
room for an hour or two, so as to carry to market in 
good condition, when if such conveniences were not 
available the lot would be at a total loss. If apples 
and pears of such varieties as the Gravenstein and 



68 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

Fameuse and Bartlett and Bosc be kept until the main 
crop is out of the market, a glut could be prevented and 
much higher prices be obtained. The increased value of 
Gravenstein and Fameuse apples and Bartlett or Bosc 
pears is often as much as one dollar to two dollars 
per box. 

Cold storage houses are constructed on three prin- 
ciples : ( 1 ) Those that are cooled off at night by letting 
in cold air from the outside and shutting out the hot air 
during the day. (2) Those cooled by means of ice. 
(3) Those cooled by chemicals. The first and second of 
these only are adapted to the use of the small grower. 
The first method is of little use, except for fall and 
winter fruit, but after the cold nights of September, if 
the doors and windows are kept open at night and are 
closed during the daytime, an even, low temperature 
may be kept up that will retard the ripening of apples 
and pears, so as to be of great profit to the grower 
and that without much expense. The walls of such a 
building must be made with several air spaces on the 
sides. The roof and the windows must be of several 
thicknesses and be made to shut tightly. Such a house 
can be used in warm weather by having an ice chamber 
large enough to hold sufficient ice to lower the temper- 
ature to the required point and then be kep't cool by 
opening only on cold nights. If it is desired to make 
the temperature very low, ice and salt may be combined 
to reduce it very quickly. The amount of ice required 
can only be determined by experiment. 

Many cold storage houses are now in use in which 
the low temperature is obtained by storing ice in the 
second story, the cold air dropping down into the space 
occupied by the fruit. In some of these houses the entire 
space overhead is filled with ice and in others only a 
large ice box is constructed in the center of the space 
overhead. In the former case the atmosphere is likely 



THE APPLE 



69 



to be too moist for the best results and a very large 
amount of ice required — enough to last through the 
entire summer — while in the latter ice is only put in 
as it is needed, a quantity being stored the winter before 
in a convenient place to fill up the ice box at the time 
needed. Figure 40 illustrates a very satisfactory cold 
storage house with the ice chamber in the center, b, 
storage space on the first floor, a, with space for storing 
barrels, boxes, etc., in loft. The door and driveway are 
shown at d. Packing and workroom, c, is in the L 
attached, with doors opening into storage room. Those 



/ 




K 




^.. ' 


-\ 


s. 


JL 


a 




!^ 


b ,1 



Fis:. 40— Fruit Cold Storage House 



who have used both kinds of these prefer the small ice 
chamber, using the salt and ice mixture to lower the 
temperature quickly when ready to put in the fruit 
in the fall. 

A cellar, if it can be perfectly drained, often makes 
a very good fruit room, but much attention must be 
given to ventilation and the condition of the atmosphere 
as to moisture. In the construction of the walls of a cold 
storage room, air spaces are generally better than those 
filled with sawdust, but a wall filled with charcoal dust 
is much better than either, as it is a perfect non-con- 



70 SUCCESSFUL rUUlT CULTURE 

ductor and will prevent the decay of the woodwork. 
One thickness of building paper to each sheathing 
should be used if there are four or more air spaces and 
two thicknesses if there are less than four air spaces. 
The best results will not be obtained, however, unless 
the walls are at least two feet in thickness, and with 
four or more spaces. All doors and windows must be 
made with two or more thicknesses, and all joints to 
fit closely. 

The use of chemicals for lowering the temperature 
can only be profitably employed where large quantities 
of fruit or other produce are to be stored. Such houses 
are generally located in large business centers, the 
produce shipped directly from the grower and is then 
kept until being sold. As fruit does not generally keep 
as well after having been in cold storage as when fresh 
from the grower, this method is not very serviceable, 
except to the large grower or dealer. 

For insects and diseases attacking the apple see 
Chapters XX and XXI. 



■ 



Ill 
THE PEAR 

{Pyrus communis) 

The pear, while not generally considered one of 
the most healthy fruits, is from its peculiar flavor 
and qualities, known as melting, sugary, buttery, etc., 
a fruit much liked by most people, and eaten in its 
fully ripe condition and in moderate quantities is a 
healthful and delicious fruit. In its natural and unim- 
proved condition, the fruit was hard and composed 
almost entirely of the gritty wood cells, known to bot- 
anists as sclerogenous cells, and a harsh and astringent 
juice that was anything but digestible, and which led 
that ancient writer, Pliny, to say, "All varieties what- 
soever are poor meat unless baked or boiled.'^ Until 
fully ripe, most varieties of pears have more or less 
of the above qualities, and should be eaten with moder- 
ation during warm weather unless cooked. For pre- 
serves, no fruit is superior to it and it is largely grown 
in many sections for this purpose alone. Like the 
apple, it is a native of Middle or N'orthern Europe. 
The tree, under the most favorable conditions, grows 
to a large size, and sometimes reaches a greater age 
than the apple, but as it is more subject to diseases, few 
trees reach great age. In value of products, the pear 
stands fourth on the list of large fruits, though it is 
losing ground in many places, except where it is 
grown for canning purposes. 



t2 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

THE ORCHARD 

For the best results, strong, rather moist land 
should be selected, but it is best that it be on an 
elevation where there will be a good drainage and a 
free circulation of air during the growing season, under 
which conditions there will be less danger from fungous 
diseases. The pear will grow well upon a variety of 
soils, as with the apple, but much profit cannot be 
expected unless all conditions are the most favorable- 

Trees for Planting — The pear tree is more difficult 
to grow in the nursery than the apple, and more care 
must be taken in growing them and in the i^election of 
trees from the nursery. A medium to large No. 1 two- 
year-old tree is the best for general planting, though 
most N"o. 1 trees sold are at least three years old. The 
preparation of the land, the pruning of the tree, and 
the planting have already been described for the apple, 
which should be followed for the treatment of the pear. 

Distance for Planting — The trees of most varieties 
naturally grow in a pyramidal form, and while it 
sometimes grows to a large size, it is more compact 
than the apple and requires a less distance. Fifteen by 
15, or 20x20 feet, are the distances most generally 
planted, according to the variety and the method of 
training. Such varieties as the Seckel, Giffard, Bart- 
lett, and many others, if kept well headed in, will need 
only the former distance, while the larger growing 
kinds and those trained with a broad head will need 
the latter distance. 

Pruning — During the first few years of its growth 
after planting in the orchard, the pear tree has a 
tendency to growth of only a few central shoots and 
with little growth of laterals. All of these strong cen- 
tral shoots must be checked by pinching as soon as 
this tendency is discovered, but one leader or central 



THE PEAR 73 

shoot being allowed to grow in advance of the others, 
and this shoot or center should be kept all through the 
life of the tree, and whenever any laterals grow beyond 
it they should be checked, thus forcing the growth into 
the lower branches. If proper attention is given to 
the training of the tree while young, very little after 
pruning will be required. 

Age of Bearing — The pear tree may be expected 
to produce paying crops of fruit at an earlier age than 
the apple, i. e., from five to eight years from planting, 
according to the variety, and unless attacked by disease 
may be expected to bear for fifty or more years. Like 
the apple, it generally produces fruit only in alternate 
years, unless the land is kept rich, well cultivated and 
the fruit thinned. The cause of this condition is the 
same as with the apple and the remedy is the same. 

VARIETIES 

In form, size and color of the fruit the pear does 
not vary much from the apple, but in the color 
of the branches, the appearance of the leaves and its 
habit of gi'owth, the variations are much greater; so 
m-uch so in many cases that most varieties may be 
distinguished by the expert from the appearance of 
the leaves or twigs alone. Varieties are generally 
classed as summer, autumn and winter. Of the varie- 
ties that will succeed in all localities it will be impos- 
sible to give a satisfactory list, and the reader is again 
referred to his own State experiment station workers, 
the following lists being given as those in most gen- 
eral cultivation throughout the country and possessing 
valuable qualities. 

SUMMER PEARS 

Ansault — A pear of medium size, light greenish- 
yellow, mostly covered with thin russet, melting, juicy. 



74 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

and fine grained. Tree a poor grower and must be 
top-grafted on to make a strong, upright tree. Bears 
young. 

Clapp — While not a variety of much value for 
general market, from its vigorous growth, its large size 
and good quality, it is valuable for home use or a local 
market when properly ripened. The tree is very vigor- 
ous in growth, the fruit is of large size and of good 
quality when picked from the tree as soon as fully 
grown, but before the wormy specimens turn yellow. 
In this condition it will color beautifully, will not rot 
at the core, ^nd be very high flavored. This variety 
makes a good stock for such varieties as the Ansault, 
Bosc and other poor growing kinds. 

Gijfard — Of medium size; in color and form like 
the Bartlett, but with more blush on the exposed side. 
Tree rather slender in growth and moderately produc- 
tive. In quality one of the best of its season. 

Margaret — Another pear of medium size and of 
greenish-yellow color with a brownish-red cheek and 
covered with greenish dots. Flesh fine, melting, juicy 
and of first quality. Tree vigorous and productive. 

AUTUMN" PEARS 

Bartlett — Probably the best known pear and largely 
grown from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is among 
the pears what the Baldwin is among the apples, and 
the Concord is among the grapes. It is too well known 
to need description. The tree is not very vigorous, 
but is hardy and productive, and often overbears; a 
fault that may be very easily remedied by thinning the 
fruit, and giving an abundance of plant food the bear- 
ing year. It ripens in September, but by putting into 
cold storage as soon as mature, it niay be kept from 
four to six weeks and sold when the market is not 
well supplied and much better prices be obtained. 



THE PEAR 75 

Bosc — This is a large, light russet pear, with a 
large body and a neck that tapers into a very long 
stem; the flesh is white, juicy, melting and o-f fine 
quality. The fruit is very large and heavy and liable 
to be blown off by heavy winds, and the trees should 
be trained low to prevent this. It is one of the best 
fall varieties and always sells at good prices when well 
grown. In New England it ripens in October, but 
may be kept in the same way that the Bartlett is 
carried over a glut and the price very much increased. 
The tree is rather weak in growth, especially when 
young, and to get the best results should be top-grafted 
on some strong growing variety like the Clapp, Flemish 
Beauty, etc. The Kieffer has been recommended for 
this purpose but has not been successfully used in 
the East. 

Sechel — A small, light cinnamon colored pear 
with a blush on the exposed side and of the finest 
quality. The tree is very stocky and compact and a 
vigorous grower and regular bearer. The fruit is small, 
unless very severely thinned, but when well grown 
always sells at a good price. 

Sheldon — A large, round, russet pear of the best 
quality. The tree is a good grower, productive and 
hardy. The color is not attractive, but where known, 
it sells at a good price. 

Anjou — A large, oblate-pyriform pear, yellow, with 
blush on the exposed side. Some seasons this variety 
ripens to be of good quality, but it is more often of 
poor quality and unsatisfactory. It comes into bearing 
late and is not very productive. 

Kieffer — There are probably more trees of this 
variety planted the country over than of any other 
kind, and it is no doubt a very profitable kind to grow 
for canning, but the quality is so poor in most places 
that if sold for table use it will lessen the demand for 



76 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

this fruit. We would not advise its planting except 
for canning purposes. 

WINTER PEARS 

Dana's Hovey — A small pear resembling the Seckel 
in form and appearance but larger and with less of the 
brown or russet color. The quality is very much like 
the latter and the tree is of the same habit of growth. 
When properly thinned, so as to grow to large size, it 
sells at the highest price. 

Lawrence — Medium in size, resembling the Bartlett 
in form, but smaller. The tree is compact in growth, 
very hardy and productive. A good early winter pear. 

Additional varieties to be recommended are 
Worden Seckel, Patrick Barry. 

HARVESTING^ STORING^ MARKETING 

Gathering and Ripening — All varieties of pears, 
with one or two exceptions, are of better quality if picked 
from the tree before quite ripe, or when the wormy 
specimens are beginning to mellow, or with some even 
earlier. Varieties, like the Clapp, that rot at the core 
as soon as fully matured, need to be picked fully two 
weeks before they would mellow on the tree. The 
fruit should be left on the tree until fully grown, 
but then be gathered as soon as possible and be put 
into a cool, dark place until it is to be sold. It is the 
practice of some growers to pick the trees over twice, 
taking all the largest specimens first, and then allowing 
the balance to grow for a time. This practice applies 
to the fall varieties, but winter fruit must be picked 
before severe freezing weather. 

Marketing — For the local market there is nothing 
better than the bushel box, and even for a long distance 
it is as good as the barrel. To present the fruit in 



THE PEAR 77 

the best condition, the bottom of the box is taken off, 
the cover nailed on and the fruit faced on the cover. 
When the box is full and the last layer is well leveled 
off, the bottom is securely nailed on so that when the 
top is taken off, the fruit presents a regular and even 
appearance. The corrugated paper board cover is very 
valuable in preventing injury to the fruit when pressed 
firmly into the box. A cold storage room is more im- 
portant in handling pears than with the apple, because 
of the short time the fruit will keep, and only a few 
varieties being grown, nearly all of one kind come into 
the market at once. To prevent a glut much of the crop 
must be held until the market is cleared and there is 
a decided demand, when good prices will generally 
follow. The cold storage house, described under the 
apple, is equally well adapted to the keeping of pears. 
For insects and diseases attacking the pear, see 
Chapters XX and XXI. 



IV 

THE PEACH 

(Prunus Persica) 

In relative importance as a money crop and as a 
home fruit the peach stands next to the apple in the 
United States and its importance is gaining more and 
more as we become more skillful in caring for it. Our 
ideas as to the best part of the country in which this 
most luscious fruit will grow have undergone a. great 
change in a few years past, for, instead of thinking 
that it will grow only in certain favored localities, we 
now find it succeeding in almost every part of the coun- 
try from Canada to Mexico, and large areas are being 
planted where it was supposed a few years ago that the 
peach could not be profitably grown. 

The peach is a native of Southern Asia and China, 
but the trees grow equally well in proper soil in Canada 
as in Texas, though the fruit buds are not hardy where 
the temperature remains lower than eighteen below zero 
for more than a few hours at a time. To grow the 
trees so that they shall withstand the changes of our 
climate in the northern parts of the United States, 
it is necessary to plant on high elevations, in rather 
light soil and in full exposure to air and sunlight. To 
reach its greatest perfection the fruit must be ripened 
on the trees, and with the modern facilities for trans- 
portation in refrigerator cars it may be allowed to 
become nearly ripe and yet be carried a long distance 
to market. It is best, however, in this business to give 
the greatest attention to the local market, for the best 



THE PEACH 79 

prices will be obtained there, the cost of transportation 
being less, and the fruit will give the best satisfaction 
because the quality is much better than anything that 
can be put into the market from a distance. 

THE ORCHARD 

The peach orchard should be located on high land 
with a full exposure to the west, northwest or north- 
east, but not to the south, unless on the top of a hill 
with full exposure to air. The soil may be a sandy 
loam, clay loam or even of clay, if it is thoroughly 
underdrained and is not too much enriched before the 
trees come into bearing, but the ideal soil is a light 
one of good strength, with a clay subsoil and with many 
small stones well mixed in it to give quick drainage 
and to furnish the mineral food that is needed for 
fruit of the best quality. Some of the best orchards in 
the country are growing on very poor soil, and this 
kind of soil has many advantages. It is cheap, the 
trees do not make an overgrowth, but sufficient growth 
can be made by the application of plant food, the buds 
are hardier, the fruit is of better quality, but the cost 
of growing is greater than on stronger land. 

Distance for Planting — The distance the peach is 
planted varies with the variety, the soil and the method 
of pruning from 12x12 feet to 15x15 feet, or even 2 Ox 
20 feet. In some cases they are planted double thick, 
one way, i. e., 7 1-2x15, 10x15, or 10x20 feet, and when 
the trees begin to crowd so as to injure each other, one- 
half of those in each row are cut out. This is a very 
satisfactory way if the grower will act promptly and 
cut out the surplus trees at the proper time. 

Trees for Planting — Most growers prefer medium 
or small trees (N^o. 2) for orchard planting, because 
they cost less, the freight charges are less, there are 
generally m.ore dormant buds on the central shoot and 



80 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 





Fig. 41— No. 2 
Peach Tree 



Fig. 42-No. 1 
Peach Tree 



therefore the head can be more certainly formed just 
where it is desired. This is shown at Figure 41, a, 
while Eigure 43 shows a No. 1 tree. The very small 

trees of any lot, however, 

are probably those that 

were budded on the weaker 

growing seedlings, their 

growth having been in- 
fluenced by the stock, and 

for this reason it would be 

better to grow trees rather 

closely and on soil that 

will produce a rather small 

growth and select the best 

of these. To produce such 
trees a limited amount of nitrogen should be used in the 
fertilizer, with a liberal amount of potash and phos- 
phoric acid, which will tend to give a hardy stock. 
Preparation of the tree for planting is a very 
important matter and there are many 
different ideas in regard to the best way 
of doing this. The common practice is 
to cut off all of the lateral shoots and the 
main stalk (Figure 43, a) to about one, two 
or three feet in hight, according to the 
hight the head is to be formed. Another 
method practiced by the writer is to cut 
the top down to about three inches of the 
point where the bud was inserted and let 
only one bud grow into a new tree. 
(Figure 43, h.) By this 
method lateral branches can 
be formed just where de- 
sired along a central shoot, 
as seen in Figure 42, and 
will be less likely to break 



a 





Fig. 43, a, Peach 
Tree Trimmed 
to Whip 



Fig. 43, b, Peach 
Tree Cut Back 
to Stub 



THE PEACH 81 

down from a weight of fruit than upon a head formed in 
the ordinary way. But whatever method is practiced, 
the head should be formed at the earliest possible time 
and a central growth be developed from which the 
laterals shall come out on all sides of the tree and at a 
little distance apart. During the summer only those 
branches should be allowed to grow that are needed to 
establish the head and all others be pinched off before 
they have taken the strength of needed parts of the tree. 

At the end of the second season or before the 
growth of the third begins, the young trees should be 
put in as perfect form as is possible, as a rule cutting 
back the young wood about one-half, varying this, how- 
ever, to give perfect form to the tree. 

Orchard Care — The planting of the tree and after 
care is practically the same as for the apple, with slight 
variations as to pruning and cultivation. The habit 
of the peach tree is such that the growth is made largely 
at the ends of the leading branches, so that in a few 
years, if unpruned, the branches become long and with 
few laterals, so that when loaded with fruit the trees 
break very easily. To overcome this habit severe prun- 
ing must be practiced. This is done in several ways, 
some cutting back all of the last season's growth one- 
half, but if this is done by rule the tree will be irregular 
in form and too many small shoots will be developed 
in tufts at the ends of the branches that will require 
much labor to thin out, or the work will be neglected 
and poor growth of the tree and fruit also will be the 
result. In this work it is better to first cut out any 
large branches that may make the head of the tree 
too close or give it an imperfect form and then head 
back some of the strongest shoots, not many, which 
will tend to increase the growth of the remaining lat- 
erals, and the fruit will be so distributed over the tree 
as not to be easily broken down by weight of fruit or 



82 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



ice. Figure 44 shows a four-year-old tree at the 
end of the season, and Figure 45 the same pruned for 
fifth season^s growth. Figure 46 shows an unpruned 
tree of same age^, and Figure 47 a three-year-old peach 
tree in foliage. 

Cultivation — While we often find peach trees of 
great age growing in the grass without any care, there 




Fig. 44— Peach Tree Before Pruning 



are few orchards where this method of care has been 
profitable. It is, with few exceptions, only by con- 
stant cultivation and care that we can expect large 
fruit and an abundance of it, but this work can be so 
cheaply done with the tools described for the cultivation 



THE PEACH 



83 



of the apple, and when so cultivated so much less fer- 
tilizer is needed that it is practiced by most successful 
peach growers. Cover crops have come to play such an 
important part in the question of fertilization, of plant 
food and the prevention of the washing of the soil on 




Fig. 45— Peach Tree Pruned 



hilly land, that I wish to call attention to this matter 
as discussed on Pages 32-34. 

Mr. A. A. Marshall of Fitchburg, Mass., has an 
orchard of over 6000 peach trees in the most perfect 
condition, growing in turf. (Figure 48.) These are 
of three, four and five years' growth and are in condi- 
tion to produce a large crop of the largest fruit of 
fine color and quality. A five-year-old peach orchard in 



84 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



turf is seen in Figure 49. The grass is cut with a mow- 
ing machine as often as the cutter bar will work under 
it — about three times each season — and allowed to lie 
on the ground to decay, thus nothing but a crop of 
fruit is carried from the land and the growth of trees 










Fig. 46— Peach Tree Not Headed In 

is kept up by the application of bone, potash, phos- 
phoric acid, lime and magnesia, using an amount aver- 
aging from twenty to fifty dollars' worth per acre, 
according to the season and the crop. By this method 



TPIE PEACH 85 

cheap land can be utilized, but it must be borne in 
mind that it will require more plant food to produce 
a satisfactory growth in turf land than under constant 
cultivation, and that in time of drouth there is more 
danger of injury. After trees have become established, 
however, by close and frequent cutting of the grass there 
is less danger than to young trees. With skillful man- 




Fig. 47— Three=Year=01d Peach Tree in Foliage 

agement and good judgment this method can be recom- 
mended, but under neglect neither this method nor any 
other will succeed. 

Fertilization — The peach is a fruit that does not 
require much fertilizer in good, ordinary soil until the 
trees begin to bear, if the land is frequently cultivated. 




u 
«- 

H 

X 



cs 

V 

> 
II 

S 

o 

U. 

I 



88 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

but when a crop of fruit is set, unless the fx'uit is 
thinned severely, a liberal supply must be used to carry 
the crop through and not weaken the trees. The best 
fertilizers to use are those rich in potash and phos- 
phoric acid, with only nitrogen enough to make a 
moderately vigorous growth of wood. These materials 
may be put on in any forms that are most available, 
but the quantity must be determined by the grower, 
who alone knows the condition of his soil and trees, 
and upon his good judgment will depend his success. 

VARIETIES 

The number of varieties of peaches has become so 
large that the beginner finds much difficulty in deciding 
what kinds to plant, and yet when we come to investi- 
gate we find that there are but a comparatively small 
number of varieties planted by the successful peach 
growers. The following named varieties are among the 
best and most largely grown : 

White Fleshed — Of the very early varieties of this 
group, including the Alexander, Early Elvers, Sneed 
types, none will be found profitable, as they are certain 
to be attacked by the brown rot nine years out of ten. 
Those generally found profitable of this group are 
Mountain Eose, Carman,^ Champion and Oldmixon. 

Yellow Fleshed — Triumph (in a dry season may 
be of some value), Crawford's Early, Crawford's Late, 
Elberta and Crosby in Northern localities. This list 
is purposely made very small for the reason that few 
varieties will do equally well in distant localities and 
the grower must study the varieties in his own locality 
and plant such as have proved the most valuable. The 
experiment stations are all making comparative tests 
of the leading varieties that succeed in the different 
parts of the country and can give the best possible 
advice as to what will be most profitable. 



THE PEACH 89 



THINNING THE FRUIT 



There is no one thing connected with the growth of 
the peach of so great importance as thinning. When 
the fruit buds are not destroyed by the cold or injured 
by late spring frosts, the trees are generally so loaded 
with fruit that, if it is all allowed to grow, the trees 
will be so injured as to be subject to all the diseases 
that so commonly attack the trees, while the fruit will 
be of little value in the market. Thinning should be 
done r.s soon as it can be determined whether the fruit 
is perfect or not, the amount of thinning to be done 
depending upon the size and vigor of the trees, and 
the quality of fruit desired. If the largest and finest 
fruit is desired, only a limited number of specimens 
should be allowed to remain, i. e., thin to from five to 
six inches apart, while, if the trees are very vigorous 
and only a medium grade is desired, a distance of 
from four to five inches may be the rule. The greatest 
profit will come from the more rigid thinning. It 
will be found where the trees are well set with fruit 
that the quantity will be about as great in one case as 
in the other, while the larger the fruit the higher the 
price at which it will sell and the less the strain upon 
the tree. In thinning, all poor or curculio-stung spec- 
imens should be picked off, even if the last fruit is 
removed, for it would be of no value in the market 
and might be a breeder of insects or fungi. 

HARVEST AND MARKETING 

Much of the profit of growing this fruit will 
depend upon the way in which it is harvested and put 
on the market. To reach its greatest perfection the 
fruit should be allowed to become nearly ripe, and be 
picked and taken to the market at once, as it will not 
keep long after it reaches this stage. It is the practice 



90 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



of those who grow this fruit for the local market to 
pick over the trees several times to get the fruit in 
the best condition. In picking, each specimen is 
examined on all sides before it is picked and if the 
green fruit has changed to a cream or light yellow, and 
the reds are well developed, it is picked. Some depend 
upon the feeling, pressing the projecting part on one 
side of the suture in addition to the change of color. 

Package — The common peach basket is the poorest 
package that could be devised for keeping the fruit, 
as well as for harvesting and marketing. It is of such 
form that the fruit as it becomes ripe and soft settles 




Fig. 50— Georgia Peach Basket and Crate 



together and is badly injured in the jar of transporta- 
tion. It is very difficult to pack in wagons or cars and 
occupies more space than any other package. The only 
merit it possesses is its cheapness, and it has been so 
long in use that it will be a long time before it will 
be replaced by a more sensible package. One of the 
best packages in use is the carrier of the Georgia peach 
growers (Figure 50), which holds six baskets of about 
three quarts each, or four baskets of four quarts each, 
making practically about the quantity that is shipped in 
the standard one-half -bushel peach basket, but its cost 
is much greater, varying from ten to fifteen cents, 



THE PEACH 91 

according to the locality and the quantity purchased, 
while the peach basket may be bought at from three 
and one-half to four cents by the thousand, or larger 
lots. For long distance shipment, the carrier has now 
been generally adopted and it should not be long before 
all of this crop will be put up in a better package than 
the common peach basket. 

Keeping the Fruit — The practice of not picking 
this fruit until it is nearly ripe, makes the danger 
of glutting the market much greater, and consequently 
produces the necessity of providing some means of hold- 
ing the crop beyond the natural season. This is done 
to a limited extent by means of cold storage rooms or 
refrigerator cars in shipping. While this fruit does 
not keep in cold storage as well as the apple or pear, 
it can be kept for a considerable time and for the local 
markets where large quantities are grown, this is a neces- 
sity. The temperature at which it will keep the best is 
from thirty-two to thirty-four degrees, and with a 
rather drier atmosphere than for the apple. , 

For method of propagation, insects and fungous 
diseases attacking the peach, see Chapters XVI'II, XX 
and XXI. 



THE APRICOT AND NECTARINE 

These two fruits are little known in the iN'orth 
and are seldom seen in our markets except in a dried 
state. This may be from the fact that as commonly 
grown the trees are short lived, and the fruit is of 
rather poor quality. 

THE APEICOT 

The apricot is thought by some botanical authori- 
ties to be a cross or hybrid between the European plum, 
Prunus domestica, and the peach, Prunus Persica, and 
by others to be a distinct species. It matters little to 
the practical grower which view is correct. 

I incline to the latter theory, as its specific fea- 
tures are as marked as many of the most distinct 
species of other plants, and it is a questiolf at what 
time all species of plants may have been evolved by 
the process of hybridization or environment to their 
present condition. I have never known either the apri- 
cot or nectarine to produce plants from seed other 
than their specific types, though I have grown many 
seedlings of both. 

As grown in the Eastern States the fruit is not of 
as good quality as that from California, but in a warm 
soil, rather thin, with a full exposure to the west, the 
trees grow rapidly, and with proper thinning, pruning 
and spraying very satisfactory results may be obtained. 

The peach stock is most largely used upon which 
to bud these fruits. The plum stock is recommended 
for heavy soil, but I know of no case where the apricot 



THE APRICOT 93 

has succeeded on heavy soils, and, therefore, consider the 
peach the best stock. The greatest obstacle to be over- 
come is the brown iruit rot or monilia that is so destruc- 
tive to the early varieties of peaches and most of the 
European and Japanese plums. 

To overcome this pest the trees should be heavily 
sprayed in March or early April with the standard bor- 
deaux — six pounds copper sulphate, six pounds lime and 
fifty gallons water — and then again with the same just 
before the blossoms open. After the petals have fallen 
spraying with diluted bordeaux (1: 1: 50) at intervals 
of from two to four weeks, should be kept up until 
the fruit is nearly full grown. If the fruit begins to 
rot as it approaches ripening, spraying just after every 
rain with a solution of copper sulphate, four ounces to 
fifty gallons, will check it. Thinning the fruit as is done 
in growing peaches and plums, must be practiced, to 
help prevent this rotting, strengthen the growth of the 
tree and improve the size and quality of the fruit. 

Sometimes the trees are winterkilled, but when 
planted in light soil, as previously mentioned, and an 
abundance of potash and phosphoric acid used, with only 
enough nitrogenous matter to make a moderate growth, 
they will make a hard, short-jointed growth that will 
be seldom injured by the most severe winter weather, 
and will live as long as peach trees. The pruning re- 
quired is practically the same that is given the peach 
by the most successful growers of that fruit. Head in 
the most rampant shoots so as to encourage a close, 
short-jointed growth. 

The number of varieties that are satisfactory in the 
East is very small, yet even many of those of poor qual- 
ity are valuable for canning purposes because of the 
peculiar flavor and of the ease with which the stone or 
pit separates from the flesh. Among the best in quality 
and the most hardy are Early Montgamet, Moorpark 



94 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

and Peach apricot. Some of the Eussian varieties are 
highly recommended as hardy and productive^ but in 
my experience they are neither as hardy nor of as good 
quality as those mentioned above. 

THE A^ECTARINE 

This fruit is perhaps less known even than the 
apricot, either in the fresh or dried state. In appear- 
ance of tree and habit of growth it is with difficulty 
distinguished from the peach, being practically a 
smooth-skinned peach. It is a distinct species, repro- 
ducing the type from seed. The tree is about as hardy 
as the peach and thrives best under the conditions de- 
scribed for the apricot. It is subject to the same insect 
and fungous pests and spraying must be done with the 
same material and at the same times as for the peach 
and apricot. 

This fruit and the apricot also are much injured by 
the plum curculio, and this insect must be kept from 
injuring the crops by jarring the trees very early in 
the morning every other day for two weeks and catching 
on sheets or frames. Or arsenate of lead may be used 
as the fruit reaches the size of small peas, which is an 
effectual remedy if all other stone fruit trees in the 
vicinity are spraj^ed with some arsenate, and is much 
cheaper than jarring. If only a few trees are sprayed 
the insects coming from those near by would be able 
to lay their eggs before they would eat enough of the 
poison to destroy them. Among the best varieties are 
the Boston, Pitmaston and Rivers Orange. 



VI 
THE PLUM 

There is no more delicious or nutritious fruit than 
the plum, and it is largely planted, but owing to the 
numerous insect and fungous pests that attack it, the 
crop of fruit is generally very small. On the Pacific 
Coast, where no fungous pests develop, on account of 
the dry atmosphere, this fruit is grown largely and 
is kno^m as the prune, and prune growing has become 
an important industry. The term "prune," though 
commonly applied to the dried fruit, is equally applica- 
ble to all the varieties of the European or "domestica" 
plums. All varieties, however, do not make good dried 
prunes ; those containing about twelve per cent of sugar 
will make "prunes'' that will keep without fermentation, 
while those containing less sugar will soon ferment. 
N'ew impetus has been given plum growing in the East 
by the introduction of the Japanese plums and the many 
hybrids produced between this and the European and 
American varieties. 

The varieties of plums in cultivation may be 
grouped into three classes, i. e., European (Prunus 
domestica), Japanese {Prunus triflora), and American 
(Prunus Americana and other species). 

EUROPEAN PLUMS 

The European varieties are represented by the com- 
mon blue, yellow and red plums of the garden, and 
produce fruit of the finest quality, but are so subject 



96 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

to the attack of insects and fungous pests that they 
cannot be grown except by the best attention and skill. 
The best soil for the growth of this group is a deep, 
moist loam, though they will grow under a great variety 
of conditions. It is of the greatest importance that the 
trees be planted in full exposure to air and sunlight, 
which will in a great measure counteract the tendency 
to rotting of the fruit and the growth of the black knot. 
It is better to plant on a light soil with such an expos- 
ure, than on heavy land if low and in a close, sheltered 
place. 

JAPANESE PLUMS 

The Japanese plums are as vigorous in growth as 
the peach, begin bearing as young and are being planted 
largely. In quality the fruit is not as good as the 
European varieties, and it is subject to the same 
diseases and insects, but owing to the short time it 
requires to grow the trees to fruiting and their great 
productiveness, they may perhaps be m,ore profitable 
than the former, even with the varieties now grown, 
and if out of the many new varieties now being offered, 
with great claims for quality, are found those equal 
to the best of the European, this group may entirely 
supersede the latter. The soil best suited to the growth 
of the Japanese plums is about the same as that for 
the peach, but perhaps a little richer and deeper. Nearly 
all varieties are subject to the brown rot, the black knot 
and the shot-hole fungus, and possibly to the disease 
known as the peach yellows, and it is important thai 
they be planted in full exposure to air and sunlight. 
This group is largely propagated upon the peach 
stock, and generally does well on this stock, but. 
whether this, the American or the Myrobalan stocks 
are the best no one has conclusively proved by careful 
experiments. 



THE PLUM 97 

AMERICAN PLUMS 

The varieties of the several species of this group are 
now attracting much attention on account of their great 
hardiness, productiveness, and freedom from disease 
and insect attack. The fruit is generally of small or 
medium size, the skin is thick and the flesh acid and 
clings very firmly to the pit or stone. When fully 
ripe and soft, many of the varieties are of good quality. 
Nearly all of the varieties are valuable for canning. 
The greatest promise of value in this group lies in 
the possibilities of crosses or hybrids with the Euro- 
pean and Japanese plums, some of which are already 
being largely planted. These varieties succeed in a 
variety of soils, but will generally do best in rather 
moist land with good exposure. Many of the varieties 
are not self -fertile and require to be planted near others 
that will fertilize them. This subject is fully discussed 
in Plums and Plum Culture, by Prof. F. A. Waugh. 

The varieties of all of the groups differ very much 
in size and habit of growth, and the distance at which 
they should be planted is from twelve to twenty feet, 
according to the kind. Two-year-old trees of the Amer- 
ican and European plums and one-year-old of the Jap- 
anese are the best for planting. 

CULTIVATION" 

In order to obtain fruit of the largest size and 
best quality the land must be kept well cultivated or 
enriched, so as to produce a vigorous growth of foliage 
and wood. Fertilizers recommended for the apple are 
equally adapted to the plum. 

PRUNING 

Most of the varieties of the plum require the same 
attention as to pruning and training as the pear, hav- 



98 SUCCESSFUL PRUIT CULTURE 

ing the same tendency to produce only a few shoots the 
first and second years. It is always better to stop these 
strong, leading shoots during the summer than to let 
them grow till fall and then cut them off, thus wasting 
considerable wood growth which, if it had been dis- 
tributed to the lateral branches, would in a year or two 
develop into fruit buds. In this work of pruning the 
aim should be to obtain stocky, low-headed trees that 
will carry a heavy load of fruit and not break down 
and be so low that all the work of thinning, spraying 
and harvesting may be easily and cheaply done. 

Age of Bearing — The Japanese varieties may be 
expected to produce some fruit two years from planting 
and full crops in three or four years, the European will 
bear in from four to eight years and the American in 
about the same time, but all varying much in time, 
according to the variety. 

Thinning the Fruit — All varieties of plums have 
the tendency to overbear, and it becomes an absolute 
necessity to thin severely if good fruit is expected and 
the trees are to be saved from injury by overbearing. 
When the fruit is from one-fourth to one-half of 
an inch in diameter all imperfect and insect stung 
specimens should be picked off, one plum -r^ly being 
allowed to remain on each spur and these not nearer 
than from three to five inches apart, according to the 
variety and the grade of fruit desired. If the plums 
are grown for canning purposes more fruit should be 
allowed to remain (a small plum is generally preferred 
for this purpose) than if fine table fruit is desired. The 
fruit generally grows in clusters and care is needed in 
this work that all of the plums on the spur are not 
pulled off at the first effort, but by turning each plum, 
carefully backward from the cluster all but one may 
be removed without injury to the rest. The earlier 
this work can be done the less will be the strain on 



I 



THE PLUM 



99 



the tree, but it will be more work to detect imperfec- 
tions while the fruit is small than when it is nearly 
grown. 

. VAPtlETIES 

European Varieties — These varieties . are classified 
into green or yellow, red and purple; though the latter 
classes may run together under different conditions 




Fig. 51— Pellenberg Plum 

of season and crops. Thus if the Lombard is allowed 
to be overloaded, and the foliage is not in full vigor, 
the fruit will be red in color, while under the most 
faA^orable conditions and a long season, some red varie- 
ties will become purple or nearly black. Among the 
best of this type are : 



Lt)fC. 




e 

3 

K 

9 

B 

9 






THE PLUM 101 

Green — Green Gage, McLaughlin, Gen. Hand and 
Washington. 

Purple — Bradshaw, Lincoln, Quackenboss, Smith's 
Orleans, Fellenberg (Figure 51), Kingston. 

Bed — Pond's Seedling, Victoria. 

Japanese Varieties — The varieties of this group 
vary in color from yellow to very deep shades of crim- 
son. The fruit is of much better quality if allowed 
to become soft on the tree, or if kept a considerable 




Fig. S3— Hawkeye Plum 

time after being picked before it is sold. As with the 
last group the color of fruit depends much upon the 
length of the season and the crop on the trees. The 
following are some of the best : Abundance, Eed June, 
Chabot, Burbank, Satsuma (for canning) (Figure 52), 
Wickson, October Purple. Many new varieties of great 
promise have been recently introduced, but their value 
for any given locality can only be determined by further 
trial in each locality. 



102 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



American Varieties — There is more uncertainty in 
regard to the value of the varieties of this group for 
market than with the other groups^ from the fact that 
they have no reputation in many of" the large markets 
of the country, and the people must become acquainted 
with them before they will be in deitiand. Among 
the best are the following: Hawkeye (Figure 53), 
Hammer, Wildgoose, Wolf, Wyant, etc. 

For insects and fungous diseases attacking the plum 
see Chapters XX and XXI. 



VII 

THE CHERRY 

{Prunus cerasus and P. avium) 

In some sections of the country cherry growing has 
become a very im.portant branch of horticulture, i. e., 
on the Pacific Coast, where it is grown to ship East and 
for canning, New York State and some of the Middle 
Western States, where it is largely grown for the 
canneries. In the older portions of the country it is 
very little grown on* account of the rotting of the fruit, 
the black knot, and its attack by the plum curculio, 
the cherry maggot and the black aphis. In these sec- 
tions old trees are only found growing in a vigorous 
condition by the roadside and on the lawn, where the 
ground is rather rich and well drained and yet where 
they do not make a vigorous growth. The fruit is 
one of the most delicious, and where the conditions are 
favorable for its growth it becomes a profitable crop. 

THE ORCHARD 

The best soil for the growth of this fruit is one 
rather light and moderately rich and warm. If the 
land is very rich or moist, where the trees grow very 
rapidly, they are soon injured by the Avinter and after 
three or four seasons the trunks crack open on the south 
side, decay soon sets in and in a few years the trees 
die. The remedy for this condition is first, to plant on 
light land and fertilize very sparingly and with quickly 
soluble fertilizers, especially potash and phosphoric acid, 



104 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

applied in the spring. Growth should be completed by 
the middle of September, and this will be insured by 
the sowing of a cover crop about August 10, or by 
ceasing cultivation by the middle of August. The 
cherry succeeds well under turf culture. 

To prevent the cracking of the trunk on the south 
side a board or stake should be set up to prevent the 
sun striking it during the fall, winter and spring. The 
dist- ce for planting will vary somewhat, according to 
the variety; those making a large tree should be set 
twenty to twenty-five feet, while the smaller kinds will 
need only fifteen to eighteen feet each way. It is the 
practice of many orchardists to plant 10x10 feet, or lOx 
20 feet, and when the trees begin to come together, cut 
out every other one. For directions for preparing the 
trees for planting, planting and after care, see directions 
for the apple. The cultivation of the orchard to be 
followed is also practically the same as for the apple. 

Pruning — Very little pruning is required more 
than to direct the growth, so that there shall be but 
one leader in case of the sweet cherries^ which are nat- 
urally pyramidal in form, while the round-headed 
varieties may have several main branches. Large 
branches should never be cut away from trees of the 
stone fruits if it can be avoided. 

CLASSIFICATION" 

The varieties of the sweet cherries (Prunus avium) 
are divided into two groups : The Heart cherries, those 
heart shaped in form, with a very juicy and sweet flesh 
and the tree of a pyramidal form, illustrated by Gov. 
Wood and Black Tartarian, and the Bigarreau cherries, 
the fruit of which is also heart shaped, but firm in 
flesh and the tree rather round and stocky in growth. 
This group is represented by the Napoleon or Yellow 
Spanish. Figure 54 illustrates a row of sweet cherries. 



^^ 











»;f*:^i 











Fig. 55— Sour Cherry Trees 



THE CHEREY 107 

The varieties of sour cherries (Prunus cerasus) are 
divided into two groups, the Duke and Morello. The 
fruit of the former is borne on stout, round-headed 
trees, is red or crimson in color and not very acid, 
while with the latter, tree is small and with slender 
weeping branches. The fruit is round, of a bright red 
color and very acid. Figure 55 shows the characteristics 
of the sour cherry tree. The following are among some 
of the best varieties of each group : 

Heart — Gov. Wood, Black Tartarian, Downer's 
Late and Windsor. 

Bigarreau — Yellow Spanish, Cleveland, Eockport 
and Schmidt. 

Duke — May Duke, Eoyal Duke. 

Morello — Early Eichmond, English Morello, Mont- 
morency. 

The fruit is marketed in several ways. In some 
places it is sold in the common quart strawberry box and 
put into the bushel crate or carrier, in other localities 
it is sold in the four or eight-pound grape basket, while 
on the Pacific Coast it is shipped in small shallow boxes 
holding two layers of large, finely-sorted fruit. As 
gro^^Ti in the East, where the fruit is likely to decay 
quickly, the quart box is perhaps the best package unless 
it is to go to canning factories, when the package is of 
no great importance, so long as the fruit is delivered 
in good condition and will keep until it is canned. 

See methods of propagation in Chapter XVIII, 
and insects and fungous pests and their destruction in 
Chapters XX and XXI. 



VIII 

THE QUINCE 

(Cydonia vulgaris) 

In the past few years quince growing, as a business, 
has not been as profitable as formerly, owing, perhaps, 
to an oversupply of this fruit, or the abundance and 
low price of other fruits. It is not a fruit that can 
be used for dessert without cooking, and consequently is 
not consumed largely — only for canning, but its aroma 
and peculiarly agreeable ilavor make it a much prized 
fruit for preserves. As a shipping fruit, it is not so 
valuable as for the local market, from the fact that 
the slightest bruise or scratch disfigures it, and when 
taken from the box or barrel, where packed with pres- 
sure, it presents anything but a pleasing appearance, 
but where it can be taken into market in the bushel 
box or market basket it shows to better advantage and 
sells at good prices. 

THE ORCHARD 

The best soil for the production of this fruit is a 
deep, rich, moist loam; not one containing stagnant 
water, but well drained, naturally or otherwise. Trees 
two or three years from the root graft or cutting are 
in the proper condition for planting. They are trained 
in two ways, i. e., in the tree form and bush form. The 
advantages of the tree form are that cultivation can 
be done better and the trees present a better appearance, 
while if the borers attack the trunk they can be easily. 



THE QUINCE 



109 



discovered and destroyed. The bush form is the most 
natural to this fruit, and if wlien trained to the tree 
form suckers are not cut away as they come out, it will 
soon take the bush form, and it may be grown in this 
form with less labor, while if borers get in between 
the trunks it is more difficult to get at them. If, how- 
ever, one trunk should be killed there will be others to 




Fig. 56— Low=Branching Quince Tree 

take the growth of the root and the tree is continued. 
A low-branching five-year-old quince tree is seen iu 
Figure 56. 

Distance for Planting-^Ten by ten or 12x12 feet 
are good distances, according to the soil. The roots of 
the quince are very fine and numerous and consequently 
it is easily planted. No fruit responds more quickly to 



110 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



good cultivation and fertilization than the quince, but 
nitrogenous manures should not be used too freely dur- 
ing the summer. If stable manure is used, it had 
best be put on in the fall and late cultivation should 
be avoided, as a late growth tends to increase the 
danger of an attack of the fire blight, which is often 
very destructive to the quince. For the production of 
fruit from three hundred to five hundred pounds of 
sulphate of potash and one-fourth to one-half ton of 
fine ground bone will make a good dressing, according 
to the condition of the land and the growth of the trees. 




Fig. 57— Orange Quince 




Fig. 58— Rea's Quince 



Pruning — Little or no pruning is required after the 
trees have become established, except to cut off the 
suckers from the trunk or roots if they become too 
numerous and to keep the head in good form. In good 
soil the quince begins to bear paying crops of fruit in 
from four to six years from planting in the orchard and 
continues to bear, with good treatm^ent, for from twenty 
to forty years. 

Harvesting — ^The fruit should not be gathered until 
it begins to turn yellow, when it may be all picked at 
once. Like the varieties of the apples with yellow 
skin, it must be handled with greatest care, as even 



THE QUINCE 111 

slight bruises or scratches make the skin turn brown. 
The fruit may be kept a month or more in a cool 
cellar, or longer in cold storage, but there is little 
demand for it after the fall canning has been done. 

VARIETIES 

There are but few varieties in cultivation, and these 
show less distinctive characteristics than those of any 
other kind of fruit. Among the best are the following : 

Orange (Figure 57) — This is an old standard 
sort, nearly round in form, of a bright yellow color and 
fine quality. 

Rea's (Figure 58) — One of the best in cultivation; 
of the largest size, of good quality and comes into 
bearing early. 

Champion — A late variety that is valuable when 
the demand continues into November, but not as 
valuable as the last two mentioned. 



IX 



THE MULBERRY 

CHINESE (Morus alba var. multicaulis) 
RUSSIAN {Morus alba var. Tartarica) 



Commercially, the fruit of the mulberry is of little 
value. Some varieties yield a large quantity of fruit, 
but it is so small and ripens so unevenly that it is 
of little use, except for poultry and pigs. It may 
have a value as a preventive of injury to the cherry 
and strawberry crops, as the robins and 
cedar birds are very fond of the fruit 
and will take less of the former fruits. 

The varieties 
that produce the 
largest and best 
fruits, the New 
American (Fig- 
ure 59), Down- 
ing (Figure 60), 
Hicks, Towns- 
e n d, etc., are 
either grafted or 
budded upon the 

Fig. 59— The New American Chinese (MorUS Fig- 60— The Down= 

^"'^'^^'y alba multicaulis) '"^ ^"'''""^ 

or Russian stock (Morus alba Tartarica), the latter 
being a little more hardy, but none standing north of 
the forty-third degree parallel, many being killed even 
much farther south. 





THE MULBERRY 113 

For the best success, the trees should be planted in 
a warm, rather poor soil, with full exposure to sunlight 
and air. Sometimes the trees are injured by too rapid 
growth, in the same manner as the sweet cherry trees, 
in fact, they both succeed under about the same 
conditions. 

The Eussian mulberry, introduced into the Middle 
West as a timber tree and bird food, to save the cherry 
crop, has proved of little value, the fruit being too 
small in size and quantity. The weeping form, known 
as Tea^s weeping mulberry, is an acquisition to our list 
of beautiful ornamental trees. It is not perfectly hardy 
north of Boston. 



THE GRAPE 

THE FOX GRAPE ( YiUs Lobrusco) 
SUMMER GRAPE {YiUs aestivalis) 
FROST GRAPE {Yitis cordifoUa) 
EUROPEAN GRAPE {YiUs vinifera) 

The grape, from its healthfulness, the large range 
of the country over which it flourishes and its large 
products, may be placed next in importance to the apple. 
The area planted is somewhere between 400,000 and 
500,000 acres, of which about one-half is in California. 
The number of vines planted is given in the last census 
reports as 200,000,000 and the yield of fruit as 1,144,- 
278,000 pounds. The largest closely planted grape area 
in the world is claimed to be that of the "Lake Shore 
Grape Belt,'' a tract extending from Brocton, N. Y., to 
Sandusky, 0., and from Lake Erie to Lake Chautauqua. 
This fruit is of especial importance, because of the 
success attained in growing it in the home garden on 
the south side of fences, walls and buildings. 

ORIGIN AISTD HISTORY 

There are about twenty species of the grape in the 
United States, but all of the varieties of any importance 
in cultivation have come from the four above mentioned 
species. In 1820 only one or two of the varieties now 
cultivated were known in any section of this country, 
and all of the especially valuable kinds have been pro- 
duced within forty or fifty years. A few fairly good 



THE GRAPE 115 

varieties have been produced by hybridization, but most 
of those in cultivation are chance seedlings, or selected 
seedlings of such hardy varieties as the Concord, etc. 
The introduction of foreign blood, as it is called, i. e., 
the crossing of our native species with the European 
grape (Vitis vinifera) has always resulted in a weak 
vine, liable to diseases and to injury from cold, yet in 
flavor and keeping qualities they are superior to the 
former, and. by continued effort it is hoped that varieties 
may be obtained of superior quality and hardiness. 
The greatest hope, however, seems to be in crosses 
between these and hardy native varieties. 

THE VINEYARD 

The best soil for the growth of the vine is a light 
sandy or gravelly one, on a high elevation and exposed 
to the south, where the fruit will be of fine quality and 
there will be little danger from late frosts in the spring 
and early frosts in the fall. The more very small stones 
in the soil the warmer it will be and the richer the 
fruit. While this fruit may be sometimes ripened on 
low land, competition is so great and prices are so low 
that much profit cannot be expected, except under the 
best of conditions. We may escape frosts now and then 
on low land, but the loss of even a few crops in a series 
of years would render the business unprofitable. Steep 
slopes should be avoided, on account of the washing of 
the soil during heavy rains, as the cost of terracing 
is so great as to take any possible profit. 

Vines — The best vines are strong, one-year-old 
plants, from the cutting or layer, and with a good 
amount of root. Before planting the top should be cut 
back to about two buds and the roots to one foot in 
length. See chapter on the propagation of the vine. 

Distance — Before planting the land should be thor- 
oughly fitted by plowing and harrowing, and be marked 



116 



SUCCESSFUL ERUIT CULTURE 



out with a plow or a marker. The distance of planting 
most practiced is eight by ten feet;, though small grow- 
ing vines may be planted six by ten feet. Close planting 
has a tendency to cause mildew and rot, especially if 
planted on land not fully exposed to air and sunlight. 

Planting — The crown of the vine should not be 
planted deep, as the grape roots naturally run very near 
the surface. Three or four inches is deep enough for 
the crown, but the ends of the roots should be put 
down into the moist soil, as seen in Figure 61. It is 




Fig. 61— Planting the Grapevine 



sometimes the practice to put the roots on the sloping 
side of a furrow, with the crown four inches deep and 
the root spread out flat, at an angle of about forty-five 
degrees, then covering with soil and pressing it firmly 
about them. If a double furrow is plowed, leaving a 
ridge between them, the vine can be easily and quickly 
planted. The best surface soil should be used in filling 
in about the roots, and if it is very poor a little fine 
ground bone should be well mixed with the soil at 
planting. 

Fertilization — The grape does not require a large 
amount of fertilizers. The elements most needed are 




Pig. 62— Vineyard with Cover Crop 



;"^yg ' 'iT"g"" ' y"*"" ' 




Fig. 63— Vineyard Witliout Cover Crop 



118 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

potash and phosphoric acid, and this is, in part, the 
reason why jt succeeds best on gravelly soil. Enough 
nitrogen must be applied, however, to make a moder- 
ately vigorous growth of wood, A very good formula 
for the grape, to be varied somewhat according to the 
soil and the condition of vines is : Fine ground bone, 
five hundred pounds, sulphate of potash, three hundred 
pounds; or nitrate of soda, two hundred pounds, sul- 
phate of potash, two hundred pounds, acid phosphate or 
fine ground rock phosphate, four hundred pounds. If 
the vines make a poor growth of wood, add more bone 
or nitrate of soda, but if the wood growth is large, use 
only the potash and phosphoric acid. A cover crop, 
sown about August 10, of peas and barley, will be found 
very useful, especially on sloping land, to supply organic 
matter, hold the soil from washing and to protect the 

c — -=a 

Fig. 64— Economical Use of Posts 

grape roots from severe freezing. Figure 62 shows 
a vineyard with cover crop of peas and barley, and 
Figure 63 the same without the cover. 

Cultivation — The first two years after planting, 
Some hoed crop, like peas or beans, may be planted 
among the vines, but a late growing crop, like the potato, 
might do harm by causing a late growth of the vine, 
the crop being dug in August or September. 

Supports and Trellises — The trellis most in use 
and which is the most satisfactory for the commercial 
vineyardist, is made of posts and wire. Chestnut or 
cedar makes the most durable posts, though other mate- 
rials are used. If the posts are six inches in diameter 
at the small end and are sawed diagonally, as seen in 
Figure 64, so that they are 2x6 inches at the opposite 



THE GRAPE 



119 



ends, two good posts are made of what usually makes 
but one. The posts are set from twenty to thirty feet 
apart, according to the weight of the vines, or even a 
greater distance, and small stakes are put in between. 
Two or three wires are used for the support of the vines, 
according to the method of training. If the vines are 
trained as in Figure 65, known as the Kniffin system, 
only two wires are needed, but if more than two 
canes are grown, more wires will be needed. Wire 
makes the best support, as it is the cheapest, the 
most durable, and the vines will support themselves 
more or less by their tendrils without tying. No. 14 
and No. 16 galvanized wire are the sizes most in use. 
The wires are fas- 
tened to the posts 
or stakes by the 
common wire fence 
staples, the top wire 
being placed on the 
top of the post. 
The hight of the 
posts varies in dif- 
ferent localities from five to six feet and they should 
be planted from three to three and one-half feet deep, 
to be beyond the action of frost. Chestnut and cedar 
posts will last from twelve to fifteen years, and should 
be renewed before quite rotted off, that the weight of 
the vines does not break them over when loaded with 
fruit. The wires are stretched on the trellis with the 
common wire fence stretcher. Many devices are 
employed to brace the end posts; the most common 
perhaps is to put in a short post six to eight feet from 
the end of trellis and brace to that. Another is to 
run the wire over the end post and sink a heavy 
stone about three feet deep around which the wire is 
wound, as shown in Figure 66. This latter method 




Fig. 65— The Kniffin System of Grape 
Training 



120 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



is very satisfactory if care is taken not to catch the cul- 
tivator teeth into it when turning the ends of the rows. 
On the north side of a vineyard, where a windbreak is 
needed, a tree like the Norway spruce or European larch 
can be planted at the end of each row and after a few 
years the wire be fastened with a screw eye to the trunk 
near the ground, and thus a brace and windbreak and 
shelter be provided. The trellis need not be put up until 
the beginning of the second year's growth, where the 
vines are strong, or the third year if they have made a 
small growth. 




Fig. 66— Method of Bracing tlie End Posts 



TRAINING AND PRUNING 

The First Year — It is the common practice the 
first year to let the vines lie on the ground, giving 
them no care further than to see that they are not 
injured in cultivating, but this is not the best way, as 
the leaves that lie on the ground are sure to be attacked 
by mildew, while if trained to a small stake they would 
be much less subject to this injury. 

The Second Year — At the end of the first year, 
unless the vines have made four to six feet of growth, 
and before the sap begins to run, the tops of the vines 



THE GRAPE 



121 



are to be cut back to two buds, in. order to obtain a 
very vigorous start for the second year. If, however, the 
growth is more than four feet, the vine is to be cut at 
the level of the first wire on the trellis. During the 
second year of the strong, or the third year of the weak 
vine, two canes are allowed to grow from the two top 
buds, running along the first wire of the trellis. All 
laterals should be pinched off when they have made 
one leaf, but not removing this leaf, as it would cause 
the bud at the base to grow, a thing that is to be avoided 
if possible. Then when another leaf is formed on this 
lateral it is pinched again, thus forcing all of the 
growth into one or two canes. 







IWvsll'<.».'VWl"/C'0^' 



Pie. 67— The Modified Kniffin System 

The Third Year — At the beginning of the third 
year the stronger one of the two canes is carried to the 
top wire of the trellis for fruiting, while the weaker one 
is cut back to two buds, from one of which is to be grown 
a new cane for the next year's fruiting. The vine is 
now fixed on the trellis, as shown in Figure 67, and 
each year from this on the training required will be the 
same, the forcing of the summer's growth into the top 
or fruiting cane and into the one new cane that is to 
replace each fruiting cane after the crop has been taken 
from it. The fruiting laterals on the top canes will 
need pinching off as soon as the last cluster of flower 
buds can be distinguished, or owing to their soft growth 
may be broken off by high winds. These laterals must 
be kept headed in all summer and will need attention 



122 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

several times duriug the summer, as well as all laterals 
on the new cane on the lower wire. A large amount of 
foliage should never be removed from a vine at any 
time; it is much better to stop growth when it has 
reached the proper length. 

The winter pruning required- after the vine has 
become established, i. e., after the third year, is simply 
to cut away the old fruiting cane at or near the point 
where the new cane started, and cutting away all of the 
laterals on the new "cane. This work may be done at 
any time after the leaves have fallen and until about the 
middle of March. After this date the vines are likely 
to be injured by bleeding. It is not best to prune when 
the canes are frozen, as they are then very easily broken. 
The common hand-pruning shears (Figure 26) are used 
for this purpose, of which there are many forms, those 
having the flat spiral or wire spring being preferred by 
the writer. 

Pruning Old Vines — In many gardens are to be 
found old vines that have not been pruned for years, 
and which produce fruit that is almost worthless in 
consequence. The owner still neglects them because he 
does not know how to take hold of the vine and put 
it into shape. Such a vine, with a little care, may be 
made productive and can be brought up in a few years, 
to any system of pruning. The first thing to do is 
to cut awa}^ all of the old wood, leaving only the 
required number of new canes for the system of train- 
ing desired. Any vine that is vigorous will have enough 
new canes to fill up the trellis or side of a building 
and will often produce as much fruit on the few remain- 
ing canes after pruning as if the vine were not pruned 
at all, and that of a much better quality. In case the 
vine is not vigorous and has but few or no new canes, 
the whole top may be cut off and only the desired 
number of new canes be allowed to grow during the 



THE GRAPE 123 

following summer, when after one season a large crop 
of fruit may be expected. In both of these cases all 
laterals must be kept . pinched off in the same manner 
as if the vine were in the vineyard. A very good way 
to locate the canes on an old vine of this kind that 
it is desired to save is to start near the ground and 
mark them with blue or red chalk at frequent intervals 
and then cut out all not so marked. 

Thinning the Fruit — The money value of a crop 
of grapes depends very largely upon the size and per- 
fection of the bunches, and this will depend a good 
deal upon the number of bunches allowed to grow on 
a vine. On a vine that is vigorous and well supplied 
with wood, more bunches of fruit will set than it can 
mature to the greatest perfection, and the number 
should be reduced as soon as the berries are the size of 
small peas. The number of bunches that are to be 
allowed to grow will depend upon the vigor of the vine. 
In a well established vineyard the average number 
should be from twenty to thirty to the vine, making, at 
a distance of 8x10 feet and the bunches averaging one- 
half pound, 5440 to 7160 pounds per acre, which is 
perhaps about the average of vineyards under good 
care. One, two or three bunches are allowed to each 
lateral, according to the number and strength of the 
laterals. 

Gathering the Fruit — Unlike other fruits the grape 
does not improve in quality after being picked but soon 
loses its lively fresh taste, and must be fully ripened on 
the vine. In many localities the fall frosts hold off 
so that maturity is practically assured every year, but 
in others it is often destroyed before fully ripe. The 
ripeness of the fruit is generally determined by the 
color, but it may be more definitely shown by the chang- 
ing of the stem of the bunch where it joins the cane. 
When this takes the color of the cane for one-fourth to 



124 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

one-half of an inch, it is safe to pick and pnt into 
storage. Light frosts will injure unripe fruit, but 
when fully ripened it will not be injured except by 
a freeze. 

To retain the beauty of the fruit, the bunches 
should be removed from the vine by taking hold of 
the- stem and cutting with a knife or scissors, so as not 
to injure the bloom. Where large quantities are to be 
picked, in some sections, they are placed on trays four 
feet long by eighteen inches wide with cleats on ends and 
a single layer deep, the trays to be stacked one above 
another. These trays are made by nailing head pieces 
upon the ends of a board of the required dimen- 
sions. Strips two and one- 
half inches wide and three- 
eighths inch thick are nailed 
on the edges of the trays to 
keep the fruit from falling off. 
(Figure 68.) This gives cir- 
«e- — rape ray culation enough about the fruit 

and large quantities can be placed in a small space until 
they are packed for shipping. 

Pacl'ing and Shipping — For nearby markets grapes 
are packed in open trays, holding from twenty to 
twenty-five pounds, the common Diamond market basket, 
containing ten to twelve pounds, or in smal] cjiip or 
veneer baskets, holding from three to six pounds, and 
taken into the market with the bloom uninjured, but 
for long distance shipping they are almost invariably 
packed in the three, five, eight or ten-pound veneer 
basket with a cover. Varieties with a tough skin pack 
the best in the last named basket, though hundreds 
of tons of the thin-skinned Concords and Wordens are 
packed and shipped in this way. To do this work 
requires considerable skill and quick movements. In 
sections where large quantities of grapes are grown, the 




THE GRAPE 125 

packing is done by the buyer, or at a central packing 
house of a grape union. In both cases the results have 
proved much more satisfactory than where each grower 
packs his own fruit, as the grade will be much more 
uniform, and as skilled help can be employed, the work 
is better and more cheaply done. In shipping, the local 
market should be considered firsts as better prices can 
often be obtained there, because the fruit can be put 
into the hands of the consumer in better condition 
than where it has been packed in a basket, and the 
cost of package and transportation may be less. 

Grapes in Cold Storage — Unless one has especially 
good facilities for keeping this fruit, it is best not to 
attempt to carry it much beyond the holidays, as there 
will be often much waste. Prices do not generally 
improve very much after this time and the quality 
deteriorates very rapidly unless the conditions for stor- 
ing are very favorable. In storing with ice, the moist 
air from the ice chamber should be cut off from contact 
with the fruit, as it causes the stems to mold. A too 
dry atmosphere also must be avoided, which causes the 
stems to shrivel. The most successful cold storage houses 
for grapes are cooled by chemicals, where the tempera- 
ture and moisture can be more exactly regulated than 
with ice. 

VARIETIES 

Varieties are classified or grouped into white, red 
and black or purple. Of the hundreds of varieties 
known but a very few are of much value for commer- 
cial purposes, and only those of decided merit will be 
mentioned. 

BLACK VARIETIES 

Worden — This is perhaps the best very early grape 
in cultivation. It resembles the Concord very closely, 



126 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

though the bunch is not quite so large; the berry is 
larger than the latter, of a dark brown purple color 
until fully ripe, but is in good eating condition a week 
or ten days before the Concord. It has the same thin 
skin as the latter and is more liable to crack during 
rainstorms, just as it is getting ripe. 

Concord — One of the most vigorous and productive, 
and perhaps the most largely planted of all. The 
bunches are large, the berries of good size, the skin thin 
and the pulp is tender and juicy but rather acid at the 
center. In Northern localities it is often cut off by the 
early frosts in the fall. 

Campbell's Early — A comparatively new grape that 
begins to color earlier than Moore's Early, but like the 
latter the pulp does not become soft and sweet until 
after the Worden is in good eating condition. It how- 
ever hangs a long time on the vine and finally becomes 
very rich, sweet and tender. 

Wilder — A hybrid grape of large size and good 
quality. It ripens with the Concord, has a thick skin 
and a soft, sw^eet pulp that is very satisfactory. The 
vine is very vigorous but subject to mildew and anthrac- 
nose, and the berries to anthracnose and black rot. With 
favorable conditions and good care it is desirable. The 
fruit keeps much longer than the others mentioned. 

RED GRAPES 

Delaware — This little grape is ever3rwhere known. 
It is hardy and productive but of slow growth and the 
thin leaves are liable to injury from mildew. It is one 
of the best in quality and by proper spraying the leaves 
can be prevented from mildewing and the variety made 
profitable. 

Brighton — In size of bunch, vigor and productive- 
ness, and in quality of fruit, under favorable conditions, 



THE GRAPE 127 

no variety is superior to this, but the vine is tender 
and often injured by diseases so that it has been dis- 
carded, by many growers, as a commercial variety. It 
must be planted near other varieties to have it pollenize, 
as it is not self-fertile and fails to set full bunches when 
planted alone. 

VS^HITE VARIETIES 

Green Mountain (Winchell) — The earliest good 
white grape that produces a bunch of large size and 
fine quality. The vine is vigorous, hardy and produc- 
tive, but the fruit is not of very attractive color, and 
has not been largely grown for market. 

Moore's Diamond — This variety produces very 
large clusters of beautiful fruit of good quality. The 
vine is hardy and generally free from disease. It ripens 
a little later than the Concord and for Northern locali- 
ties is therefore not profitable. 

Niagara — The bunches, and the berries as well, are 
a little larger than those of the last named variety, but 
the color is not quite as good and it is a little later in 
ripening. The vine is very vigorous and productive, 
but is very much subject to disease, especially in the 
North. 

Of the varieties of grapes of different colors, those 
of a purple color sell the best, a very bright red, like 
the Delaware, the next, and the white or green, unless 
of a golden color, the poorest. 

GIRDLING THE VINE 

In Northern sections and with very late varieties 
the crop is often cut off by early frosts in the fall, and 
girdling (taking out a narrow ring of bark below the 
fruit) is practiced to some extent to hasten the ripening. 
The effect of this girdling is to stop the backward 



128 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



flow of the elaborated sap to the parts of the vine back 
of the girdle, and as a result the foliage beyond the 
girdle is much increased in vigor and the fruit in size, 
and it matures a week or ten days earlier than the un- 
girdled cane. The fruit thus grown has a more watery 
consistency, does not taste as sweet, but many analyses 
of girdled fruit show it to contain several per cents more 
sugar. The lack of sweet taste is due to the acid being 
more quickly soluble than the sugar. Only the part of 




SPr«t«r ^^ 

FiS:. 69— Implements for Ringing Grapevines 

the vine that is bearing the fruit should be treated, 
i. e., that bearing the fruit, for if the whole vine is 
girdled, there being no elaborated sap to go below the 
cut, no new roots will be formed, and the vine will 
consequently make a very weak growth the next season 
if it is not killed outright. To obtain the best results, 
several strong and vigorous canes should be grown below 
the girdle, when no injury will result from this practice. 
By this operation the growers in Northern sections can 



THE GRAPE 129 

get their fruit into the local markets before the main 
supply from the large grape growing sections gluts them 
and the prices are too low for profit. The work of 
girdling is done with a common pocket knife, or some 
implement made for this purpose, as shown in Figure 69. 
The best time for this work is when the berries 
are about one-third to one-half grown. The width of the 
ring varies from one-quarter to one inch, according to the 
size of the canes, the smaller the cane the narrower 
the ring. In girdling, care must be taken not to 
make the cut on the hend of the vine, as in that case 
it is very liable to be broken by the weight of the fruit 
or by high winds. 



XI 



THE BLACKUERRY 

THE HIGH BLACKBERRY {RuhuS vUloSUS) 

THE DEWBERRY {Rubus Canadensis) 

This is one of the very important native fruits, 
and is found growing wild in almost every section of 
the country; perhaps the most noted section for the 
growth of this fruit is New Jersey, from which large 
quantities of fruit are shipped to many Northern and 
Western cities. This fruit is noted for its medicinal 
properties and is a very valuable addition to the list 
of late summer fruits. In the garden the blackberry 
is commonly planted in some out-of-the-way place where 
it is allowed to spread unmolested, until it becomes an 
impenetrable tangle, where neither man nor animals 
can get the fruit. It is then voted a nuisance, when 
with a little care at the proper time it would have 
yielded an abundance of fruit. It should be more 
largely grown than it is now, both in the field and 
garden. 

THE COMMON HIGH BLACKBERRY 

The Soil — While the blackberry will grow in a 
great variety of soils, it succeeds best in a rather heavy 
moist one. If planted on a thin soil a very large 
amount of manure or fertilizer must be used in order 
to produce a large growth of tops that will shade the 
ground and thus keep it cool. A plantation in thin 
soil will not last as long as one in heavy land. On a 



THE BLACKBERRY 131 

thin soil, if water is available for irrigation, large crops 
may often be produced, or this result, a soil-cover, may 
sometimes be obtained by heavy mulching. The danger 
from mulching is that the roots are brought to the 
surface of the ground and the mulch must be kept up 
all of the time, or when it decays, or if it is removed 
and the land cultivated, the surface roots will be de- 
stroyed. 

Planting — The best time for planting is in the 
fall, but the plants may be set with success in the spring 
if it is done early. If it is necessary to delay planting 
until late in the spring, a plantation may be made by 
taking up the new soft suckers, putting them into a 
pail of water as they are dug and setting them without 
exposure to the sun and air. The soft ends of the canes 
should be^ cut off before they are dug. This method 
may be practiced at any time during the summer when- 
ever young shoots can be obtained, and is a very con- 
venient way to fill out a newly planted field. The 
distance of planting varies greatly with different 
growers, ranging from 4x6 to 6x8 feet. Two methods 
are practiced, the Hill system and the Bow system. 
The advantages of the former are that most of the work 
of cultivation can be done by the horse, and the fruit 
may be more easily gathered than in the close row. 
With the row system the soil is more covered, and more 
shaded, a thing that must be provided to get the best 
results, especially in dry weather, and the fruit will be 
larger, as the largest and best fruit is always found 
under the shade of masses of foliage. 

Cultivation — There are few crops that may be so 
easily grown, if the work be done at the proper time, 
as the blackberry, and few also that if neglected require 
so much care to put into condition again. All suckers 
not needed to fill out the rows or hills must be treated 
as weeds and the ground be kept light and loose at all 



132 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



times during the summer, especially during dry weather 
when the fruit is ripening. By frequent cultivation the 
roots are kept deep in the soil, which produces the cool 
condition under which they succeed the best, and plant 
food is being rapidly developed by the frequent exposure 
of the soil to the air. Late cultivation is generally 
to be avoided, .but in seasons when there is but little 
moisture in the soil during August, it may be best 




Fig. 70— Blackberry Canes Pruned and Unpruned 

to keep up cultivation till the middle or the last of 
September, or until there has been a considerable 
fall of rain. 

Pruning — Success in the growth of this crop will 
largely depend upon pruning. The first year, at plant- 
ing, the canes are cut back to within five or six inches 
of the ground, and from each of these canes will grow, 



THE BLACKBERRY 133 

the first summer, one or two canes, and perhaps one or 
two sprouts from the roots. These may be expected to 
bear a few berries the next season, but the fruit, beino- 
so near the ground, will not be worth the trouble of 
protecting from the spatter of dirt during heavy rains. 
The second summer more numerous new shoots, from 
three to six feet long, should be produced, that may be 
expected to bear a crop of considerable value the third 
season. After the canes begin to bear, the work of 
pruning consists in cutting out the old canes that have 
borne a crop, thinning out the small, weak shoots, and 
heading back the new ones so that, as seen in Figure 70, 
when they are loaded with leaves and fruit they will 
not be bent down to the ground. 

The old fruiting canes are cut away by some growers 
in the late summer or early fall, but are left by most of 
them until the leisure days of winter. Some growers 
summer prune by heading back the new canes when they 
have made about three feet of growth, which causes a 
stocky and branching condition, as-seen in Figure 70, 
while others let the canes grow to their full length and 
do not head back until after growth ceases in the fall, 
or until the winter or spring pruning. After many 
trials of the different methods and under many varying 
conditions and soils, we conclude that the single uu- 
branched cane with numerous strong buds along it will 
give more fruit than the summer pruned canes with 
buds that mature later on the branched growth resulting 
from this summer pruning. Another objection to the 
branching canes is that with a heavy fall of wet snow 
or heavy accumulation of ice, the laterals are liable to 
be broken from the main canes. Pruning is often 
delayed by many until after the buds have begun to 
grow in the spring, that it may be definitely known 
what canes are winterkilled and what are not, otherwise 
many canes that perhaps were alive would be cut out. 



134 



SUCCESSFUL FKUIT CULTURE 



while many dead ones would be left, if the pruning were 
done before growth began. 

Training — While many growers do not give their 
blackberry plants any support, it is often much better 
to have some way of holding them up from the ground 
in cases of heavy foliage and crops of fruit during wet 
weather. A very good and inexpensive support consists 
in stretching ISTo. 14 or 16 galvanized wire on each 
side of the row and holding it in place on a crosspiece 
from one to two feet, according to the width of the 
row of canes, nailed to stakes set at intervals of from 

fifteen to thirty feet apart, as 
shown in Figure 71. At the 
end of each crosspiece is 
driven a strong nail to catch 
the wires. In putting up the 
trellis one wire is drawn on 
the ground close up to the 
row on each side and fas- 
tened to one end stake. It 
is then drawn as firmly as it 
can be done without breaking, 
and then fastened tempora- 
rily at the other end, and 
caught over the nail on each 
stake, as seen in Figure 72. The wires are then drawn 
together in as many places between each stake as may 
be found necessary to bring the canes into an upright 
position, after which they may then be drawn more 
tightly and only a few canes will be found that will 
need tying. This support has the advantage that the 
wires can be quickly taken off the crosspiece, drawn 
along the middle of the row during the summer, again 
caught on the nail, thus all new canes brought into the 
row, so that cultivation may be carried on more com- 
fortably and the fruit be more readily gathered. Only 




Fig. 71— Crosspiece in Black- 
berry Trellis 



THE BLACKBERRY 



135 



a limited number of canes should be allowed to grow 
in the row or hill, and yet there should be enough to 
cover the ground well during the months of July and 
August. The larger the canes the fewer there need be. 
They should stand from six inches to one foot apart, 
and all. small canes be treated as weeds. 

Winter Protection — There is no variety of black- 
berries that we find hardy under all conditions, and in 
order to insure a crop every year, some means of 
protection must be provided. This is not generally 




Fig. 72— Support for Blackberries and Raspberries 

practiced, however, except in the extreme, JN'orth, and 
in many cases the cost will be more than the gain. 
The method of protection most in use is covering with 
soil, as described under the raspberry. 



VARIETIES 

The number of varieties that are widely grown 
are but few, and these do not succeed over a very 
wide range, therefore the reader should consult his 
own experiment station or some successful grower in 
his own vicinity as to what to plant, and plant only 
those that are generally profitable. 



136 SUCCESSFUL FKUIT CULTURE 

Agawam — The earliest hardy variety for the North. 
Fruit of large size, fine quality and sweet as soon as 
black. It is rather soft, but firm enough to carry to 
a near market and keep for two or three days. Its large 
size, good color and earliness make it profitable. Suc- 
ceeds best on heavy soil. In some places it has been 
attacked by the fall orange rust, but this is not a 
serious defect on strong land. 

Snyder — A very hardy and upright growing variety 
that is largely grown at the North. In heavy soil the 
fruit is of large size and good color, but on light soil 
and where the bushes are not growing vigorously it is 
small and ripens unevenly in color*, so that the berries 
have a mottled appearance. It also turns red after 
being put on the market, yet it is more largely grown 
in many localities than any other. 

Taylor — The canes of this variety are much lighter 
in color than the two last, very upright and spiny in 
growth. The berries are long, black and of good qual- 
ity, ripening about one week later than the Snyder. 

Eldorado — This comparatively new variety is of the 
Snyder type, equally hardy, and as far as tested seems 
to be productive. The fruit is without the color defects 
of the latter. 

Of varieties that are valuable in some localities may 
be mentioned the Ancient Briton, Erie, Ohmer, Early 
Harvest, Bangor, Mersereau, etc. 

Picking and Marketing — If the fruit is to be 
shipped a long distance it should be picked every day, 
that a"l of the berries shall be firm. It should not be 
picked while wet if it can be avoided, and should be 
put. into a cool place as soon as possible after picking. 
It is marketed in quart baskets, put into crates holding 
thirty-two quarts. The prices at which the fruit sells 
vary in the local market from five cents to twenty cents, 
and where shipped a long distance, from three cents 



THE BLACKBERRY 



137 



to fifteen cents, according to season and condition of 
fruit. The yield will vary from 1000 to 5000 quarts 
per acre. 

THE DEWBERRY (Ruhus Canadensis) 

This species of 
blackberry is found 
growing wild from 
N e w f oundland to 
Virginia and west 
to the Eocky moun- 
tains, and possesses 
many desirable ' 
qualities, but its 
habit of running on 
the ground and its 
liability to winter- 
kill in cultivated 
land have prevented 
its cultivation as a 
commercial crop. 
By giving proper 
treatment, however, 
it has been found 
to produce paying 
crops in some cases. 
If the canes are 
covered during the 
winter with a little 
coarse hay or straw 
and this material is 
then put under 
them in the summer. 




Fig. 73— Lucretia Dewberry 



conditions are produced that 
will result in a large crop of fruit, and as it ripens 
one or two weeks earlier than the high blackberry it 
a good price. Some growers of this fruit 



brings 



138 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

have, in addition to the above treatment, trained 
the canes to stakes, by which means the fruit can be 
more easily gathered, but if fully exposed to the sunlight 
and air the berries are not as large as when shaded. For 
the best results, the land must be made very rich, so 
as to produce plants enough to shade the ground, and 
an abundance of moisture be present at the time of 
ripening. 

Varieties — There are several varieties listed by 
nurserymen, but the only one that has been grown to 
any extent is the Lucretia. (Figure 73.) This is a 
vigorous grower, as hardy as any, and the fruit is of 
large size and excellent quality. 

See methods of propagation in Chapter XVIII, 
and insects and fungous pests in Chapters XX and 
XXI. 



XII 



THE RASPBERRY 

THE RED RASPBERRY {EubuS stHgOSUS) 

The red raspberry is the most popular of the bush 
fruits in most localities. It is found in a wild state 
from Labrador to the mountains of North Carolina and 
west to Missouri and Minnesota. Like the blackberry, 
it delights in a cool, moist location, but is found growing 
in almost every kind of soil. It is propagated in the 
same way as the blackberry and the general treatment 
in the field is the same. The varieties that are most 
cultivated are not quite as hardy as those of the black- 
berry, but, as the canes can be more easily protected 
from cold by covering, the crop is quite as certain to 
be profitable. As with the blackberry, large fruit 
cannot be expected unless the land is rich enough to 
produce a large growth of canes to shade the soil and 
keep it cool. 

The distance for planting varies much with dif- 
ferent growers and different methods. In a very rich 
soil the canes may grow so large and tall that if planted 
in rows six feet apart or in hills 4x6 feet, the ground 
will be well shaded, as seen in Figure 74, while in thin 
or poor soil the cover would not be obtained if set 3x5 
feet. The trellis used for the support of the blackberry 
(Figure 72) is sometimes used; the canes are some- 
times tied to stakes, though no support is used by 
most growers. 

Pruning and Training — The methods of pruning 
and training outlined for the blackberry apply to this 




I 



z 






THE RASPBERRY 141 

fruit in almost every particular ; it is better, however, to 
cut out the fruiting canes soon after the fruit has been 
gathered. Summer pruning is not as generally prac- 
ticed as uj)on the blackberry, but some growers obtain 
good success by this practice. 

Winter Protection — The canes being small and 
flexible, they can be laid over to the ground and covered 
with soil and thus injury from cold be prevented. The 
work of laying down the canes is very simple, three 
men being employed to the best advantage. One man 
with thick gloves on grasps a cluster of the canes grow- 
ing together and with a strong pull bends them to the 
ground, as seen in Figure 75 ; the second and third man 
then throw on soil enough to hold the canes down. 
Another cluster of 
canes is grasped 
and the process is 
repeated. The 
canes should be 
bent toward the 

south, so that the Fig. 75— Laying Down Red Raspberry Canes 

sun may not strike 

them perpendicularly, which would cause them to 
start too early in the spring and injure them. After 
all are laid down the plow is run lightly on each 
side of the row, turning more soil over or against 
the canes. It is not necessary that the canes be 
entirely covered, as the moisture and warmth of the 
soil without covering is suflicient to keep them from 
injury. In the spring the canes should be taken up 
before growth begins, as the buds will start niore 
quickly when near the ground than when standing up- 
right. Deep working of the soil among both raspberries 
and blackberries should be avoided, as both are shallow 
rooted plants and when worked deep the roots are some- 
times seriously injured and the growth of the plants is 




143 SUCCESSFUL PRUIT CULTURE 

checked. As with the blackberry, there are but a very 
few varieties that are of much value at the North, while 
at the South many of the so-called hardy varieties lose 
the foliage by burning during the summer. 

VARIETIES 

Cuthhert — While this variety is often winterkilled, 
where it does withstand the weather it yields a very large 
crop of large berries of good quality, and is very profit- 
able. The berries are large, of a slightly conical form, 
and rather firm, so that it carries fairly well to market. 
In color it is not the best, but it sells well. It succeeds 
best in a rather moist soil. 

King — A very early variety of bright red color and 
fine quality. In size it is not as large as the Cuthbert, 
but is one of the largest of the very early kinds, and 
one of the most productive. It is rather more hardy 
than the Cuthbert. 

Loudon — x\ very stocky, hardy growing plant that 
in good soil produces large fruit of good quality. It 
requires a rather heavier and richer soil than other 
varieties. In a few cases it has been reported as being 
attacked by mildew when the fruit is about ripening 
in wet weather. This perhaps would be prevented by 
thorough spraying just as the blossom begins to open 
in the spring. 

Other varieties that are of value in manv localities 
are Miller, Phoenix, Thompson's Pride and Early Pro- 
lific. 

MARKETING 

The fruit is very soft and breaks down quickly 
in the market in hot weather. It should be marketed in 
pint boxes, and be picked every day. It should never 
be picked when wet if it can be avoided. As soon as 
gathered the fruit should be put into a cool, dry place, 



THE RASPBERRY 



143 



and then shipped to market at the earliest possible 
moment. The prices obtained range from five to twenty 
cents per pint, according to quality and condition. 



THE BLACKCAP RASPBERRY {Rubus occidentalis) 

The blackcap raspberry, in its wild state known 
often as the thimbleberry, differs in the habit of 
growth, color of 
fruit and method 
of propagation very 
widely from the red 
raspberry. It grows 
in hills and throws 
up no suckers from 
the lateral roots, 
but sends up strong 
shoots from the 
center of the plant 
each year, and is 
propagated by the 
ends of these canes 
rooting, under fa- 
vorable conditions, 
during the late 
summer and fall. 
Pigure 76 shows 
the rooting of 
blackcap plants. 
The fruit is black in color, less acid than the red 
varieties, but with larger and perhaps more numerous 
seeds. It was very popular some ten to fifteen years 
ago, but now in many markets there is little demand 
for it. It yields much larger crops than the red varie- 
ties, and comes to the market following the strawberry 
and just before the red raspberry. 




Pig:. 76— Rooted Tips of Blackcap Canes 



144 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

Distance of Planting — They are planted from 4x5 
to 5x6 feet, according to the vigor of the variety, and 
cultivation is generally done with the horse both ways. 
Blackcap plants should be planted only in the spring, 
as the roots are very soft and tender in the fall, and 
the slight pressure of the foot will bruise them, while 
in the spring they have become somewhat hardened. 
The end bud of the ^^tip" or plant should not be planted 
more than an inch or two below the surface of the soil, 
but the roots must be put down into the moist soil. 
Figure 61, illustrating the planting of the grapevine, 
shows a good way of planting the blackcap raspberry. 
Most failures in planting the blackcap raspberry come 
from putting the end bud so deep that it cannot break 
through the cover soil. 

Pruning — The pruning required by the blackcap is 
about the same as for the blackberry, though it will stand 
more summer pruning and perhaps requires two or three 
"pinchings-in" to make the canes stand up without sup- 
port. Some growers tie to stakes, while others use 
the trellis and do not attempt to cultivate both ways. 
The fruiting cane should be cut out as soon as the fruit 
has been gathered in order to allow full growth of the 
new canes. 

Harvesting and Marheting — The fruit is picked in 
quart baskets and sent to market in twenty-four or 
thirty-two-quart crates. It carries well, but the prices 
are very low, ranging from five to ten cents per quart, 
yet the yield is generally large and the fruit ripens 
nearly all at one time, so that the cost of growing and 
picking is small and much profit may be expected where 
there is a demand for this fruit. 

VARIETIES 

Scarcely a variety is now grown that was in cul- 
tivation ten years ago, on account of disease and 



THE RASPBERRY 145 

deterioration of varieties, and it is advisable not to 
depend upon the old sorts too long but renew the 
plantations after four or five years with new kinds. 
Among the best at this time may be mentioned the 

Palmer — This is an early variety of large size and 
good quality, of dark color and productive. One of the 
best for general cultivation. 

Kansas — Perhaps more productive than the last, a 
little later in ripening, but especially valuable on account 
' of its quality and hardiness. 

Cumberland — One of the most vigorous and pro- 
ductive of the blackcaps. It is late and of good quality. 
It is recommended very highly wherever grown. 

Other varieties that are grown in some localities 
are Souhegan, Gregg, Ohio, etc., etc. 

THE PURPLECAP RASPBERRY (RuhuS UegUctus) 

This group of raspberries has of late attracted 
much attention on account of their great vigor, pro- 
ductiveness and fine quality. In habit of growth they 
are like the blackcap, but with a fruit about half way 
between this and the red raspberry, and the flavor 
and texture of the latter. They are not as hardy as 
the other two species, yet the canes seldom kill down 
so close to the ground but that laterals bear more or 
less of a crop of fruit every year. The color of the 
fruit, a reddish-purple, is such that it does not sell 
readily, but it is especially valuable for home use. It 
is propagated in the same way as the blackcap, and 
should be treated in the same way as this species as to 
pruning and other particulars. Among the leading 
varieties are : 

Shaffer— One of the oldest of this group, and one 
of the best in quality, but is not quite as hardy as some 
of the later kinds. The fruit is large in size but is too 
soft for distant market. 



146 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

Columhian — A more vigorous plant than the last, 
and very productive, but the fruit is not of as good 
quality. 

Numerous other varieties of this type have been 
introduced, but all of them are of the same dark red 
color that is not attractive in the market, and none of 
them should be planted largely for market unless there 
is a certainty of a demand for them. 

YELLOW RASPBERRIES 

Yellow varieties, or albinos, of the blackcap and the 
red raspberry, are listed in most nursery catalogs, but 
they are of little value in the market, as they are not 
attractive, and are not of as good quality as the red or, 
black varieties. The best among the yellow raspberries 
is the Golden Queen or Yellow Cuthbert, which is sup- 
posed to be a white or albino form of the latter. When 
first picked it looks well, but it soon turns to a brown 
color. The yellowcap raspberry and the white black- 
berry are of no commercial value and are to be planted 
only as curiosities. 



XIII 

THE CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY 

THE CUREAiS^T 

(Ribes ruhrum) 

This is one of the most healthful fruits, is easily 
grown, and should be found in every garden. It is 
grown to a considerable extent for market, and where 
the soil is suited to its growth it is found profitable. 
It succeeds best in a deep, moist loam, but if too wet 
the plants are heaved out in the fall and spring by 
frost. To prevent this heaving o-ut the land may be 
heavily mulched in the fall with coarse stable manure 
or straw, but this must be removed in the spring before 
the roots have made much growth, or it will cause 
the roots to grow so near the surface as to be injured 
by the cultivator, and the second winter the bushes will 
be likely to be tipped over by high winds. Shallow level 
cultivation will give the best results. The land must 
be kept rich with a heavy dressing of stable manure 
or fertilizer each year, using enough to produce a few 
strong new canes each season, for there is no fruit 
that runs small so quickly on old wood as the currant. 

Planting — The distance most generally planted is 
4x6 feet, and they may be planted either in the fall or 
the spring, as is most convenient. Some growers set 
the plants nearer than four feet in the row, and prune 
the bushes to three or four strong canes. The best 
plants are strong one-year cuttings, though many 



148 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

growers prefer two-year-old plants. The currant comes 
into bearing the second or third year from planting, 
and with proper care should last for a generation 
at least. 

Pruning — The pruning required consists in remov- 
ing the old wood after it is three or four years old and 
allowing only a limited number of new canes to grow. 
These canes should be strong and upright, so as to 
carry the fruit high that it may not be spattered by 
heavy rains. If the canes are low it is well to mulch 
while the fruit is ripenings, but this must be removed 
at the earliest possible time after the fruit has been 
harvested, so that the roots may not be drawn to the 
surface. 

Harvesting and Marheting — Currants are marketed 
in quart baskets in the same manner as strawberries 
and raspberries. It is a fruit that will hang a long time 
on the bushes, especially if grown under the shade of 
trees or when the foliage is heavy, and is often in 
condition for marketing for more than a month. Some 
growers pack about ten pounds of this fruit in a common 
market basket and sell by the pound. The prices range 
from five cents to fifteen cents per quart, with an average 
of perhaps not far from eight to ten cents for the 
season. The yield under good conditions is often 200 
bushels per acre and upwards. 

VARIETIES 

While there are many more or less distinct varie- 
ties, they are not so marked in their variations as 
most of the other fruits. It is often said that the 
difference in the varieties sold under different names 
is due to the treatment they receive as to soil and fer- 
tilizers, and this is in a measure true, yet there are 
several varieties that are marked enough to warrant 
distinct names. Among the best of these are: 



THE CURRANT 



149 



Cherry (Figure 77) — Bush stocky and vigorous, 
producing short bunches of large berries of a decidedly- 
acid quality. This variety is found badly mixed in 
most of the nurseries with the Versailles, a long bunched 
and more vigorous grower, but 
not as valuable a variety. For 
this reason the Cherry is not 
as desirable as some other 
varieties that have been kept 
free from mixtures. 

Wilder — A variety resem- 
bling the Cherry somewhat, 
but with a longer bunch and 
rather more vigor of bush. 
The stock has been kept free 
from mixture and is free from 
the objection to the Cherry. 

Fays Prolific — This is 
perhaps the most planted of 
any variety. The bush is vig- 
orous and very productive, the 
fruit is large, bunches longer 
than the Cherry, but of about 
the same degree of acidity. It 
is a more valuable variety than 
the latter from the fact that it 
is entirely free from mixtures. 

Bed Cross — Eesembles the 
Wilder very much in bush and bunch of fruit, but 
perhaps a little more vigorous. 

Pomona — A very vigorous and productive variety 
of especially good quality. Grown in a very rich soil 
the fruit is of good size and its immense productiveness 
and fine quality make it often one of the most profitable 
varieties in cultivation. 




Fig. 77— Cherry Currant 



150 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



White Imperial (Figure 78) — White varieties of 
this fruit are not very popular in the markets, but as the 
fruit is much less acid than the red kinds and of much 
better flavor, they should be planted for home use^ and 
the markets be educated to know of their superior qual- 
ity. The above variety is the 
best in quality of this group, 
and is equally productive with 
the White Grape, which is also 
a good kind, but more acid 
than the latter. 

The Black Currant (Ribes 
nigrum) — The black currant 
is a vigorous growing, hardy 
and productive fruit, but is 
not generally in demand ex- 
cept in markets where there are 
many English or German peo- 
ple. In its uncooked state it 
has a peculiar flavor that is 
not liked by Americans, but it 
makes a most delicious jelly or 
marmalade. It is easily grown, 
is free fronLall insect pests and 
fungous diseases, that attack 
the red currant, and where 
there is a market for the fruit 
at reasonable prices it would 
be very profitable. If a hybrid 
could be produced between this and the red currant, 
with improved quality and with the same hardiness and 
vigor, it would be a valuable addition to our hardy fruits. 
Among the best varieties are the Black English, Black 
Naples and Lee's Prolific, the latter perhaps being the 
best of the three. 




Fig. 78— White Imperial 
Currant 



THE GOOSEBERRY 151 

The Golden Flowering Currant (Rihes aureum) — ■ 
This is the common flowering currant of the garden, 
an improved variety of which, known as CrandalFs Im- 
proved, has been introduced, that produces a much larger 
berry of rather better quality than the original. The 
principal objection to this variety is the habit of not 
ripening all of its fruit at one time. Like the black 
currant, this is of little value for market, but offers 
some hope of value if it can be crossed with some other 
species and thus give us a hardy and vigorous strain 
that will be as free from disease and insects. CrandalFs 
Improved is the only variety that is offered by nur- 
serymen. 

See Chapters XX and XXI for protection from 
insects and fungous pests. 

THE GOOSEBEEKY 

EUROPEAN (Ribes grossularia) 
AMERICAN {Rihes oxyacanthoides) 

The gooseberry is not a fruit that finds a ready 
sale in our markets in large quantities, but its consump- 
tion is increasing, and it should be more largely used. 
The season for marketing is longer than that of the 
currant, from the fact that it is sold in both the green 
and the ripe state. The conditions of growth are about 
the same as for the currant, but it will grow fairly well 
under the shade of trees. The land should be made rich 
with an abundance of potash and phosphoric acid and 
nitrogen enough to make a fair growth of wood. In 
pruning the same plan should be followed as with the 
currant, cutting out the old wood after it is more than 
three years old, and thinning out some of the small and 
weak new shoots, and thus forcing the growth into 
those shoots that are left. Among the varieties that 



162 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

succeed over the largest area niay be mentioned the 
following : 

Columbus — Fruit large, greenish-yellow, and of 
good quality. Plant vigorous and very productive. One 
of the best. 

Downing — A very hardy and productive variet}^ 
with light green fruit of medium size. It is especially 
valuable for cooking on account of its tender skin and 
good quality. 

Red Jaclcet — One of the best of the red fruited 
varieties. Fruit of large size and good quality. 

Industry — An English variety that under some 
conditions is very satisfactory. The fruit is of large 
size and good quality, but the bush generally makes a 
slow growth. 

For insects and fungous diseases attacking the 
gooseberry, see Chapters XX and XXI. 



XIV 

THE STRAWBERRY 

EUROPEAN" (Fragaria vesca) 
AMERICAN {Fragaria Virginiana) 

In some particulars the strawberry is the most 
important fruit crop of the temperate zone. It rivals 
the apple in the time that we may have it in the market 
in a fresh condition. Coming from the extreme South 
soon after Kew Year, a supply is kept up from the 
South to the North and from the North to the South 
until August. It is the first fruit of the season, and 
will produce, under good conditions, more bushels per 
acre than the potato. It is of especial importance to 
the grower just starting into business because an income 
can be obtained within twelve to fourteen months after 
planting. It is a fruit that succeeds in a great variety 
of soils, but is most profitably grown on a deep, rich 
sandy loam. In a very dry time on light land the crop 
is often injured by drouth, but if a heavy coating of 
stable manure is turned under before setting and the 
land is well mulched before the fruit begins to ripen, 
a crop will be carried through a great deal of dry 
weather. The strawberry often yields a very heavy crop 
on reclaimed meadows, but under such conditions the 
tendency is to run to plant instead of fruit, and the 
fertilizers used should contain a large amount of potash 
and phosphoric acid. A very good fertilizer is made 
of three parts of good hard wood ashes to one of fine 
ground bone used at the rate of from one to two tons 



154 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

per acre, according to the fertility already in the soil. 
A southern slope should be selected for an early crop 
and a northern one for a late crop. 

FITTING THE LAND 

It will be especially advantageous to work the soil 
deeply with a trench plow, fining it to a depth of fifteen 
to twenty inches, as the more deeply and finely it is 
worked the greater will be its capacity for resisting 
drouth. If it is plowed in the fall it will work up much 
earlier in the spring, and if stable manure is plowed 
under in the fall it will give better results than if turned 
under in the spring. Turf land that is to be devoted 
to the strawberry should be planted with some hoed 
crop like potatoes, etc., for one season, or it may be 
planted with some leguminous crop like cowpeas, soy 
beans, hairy vetch or clovers, that can be turned under 
to supply nitrogen, and also humus to hold the moisture. 
The surface of the land should be thoroughly fined with 
the harrow and drag or leveler and marked out carefully 
to rows of accurate distances, that the work of culti- 
vating may be done quickly and easily. If the land is 
not well supplied with plant food any good fruit fer- 
tilizer may be scattered along the rows, to be worked 
in as the plants are set, the remainder to be worked 
in with a weeder or fine-toothed cultivator within a few 
days after planting. 

TIME FOR PLANTING 

While the strawberry may be planted at any time 
in the year when the ground will work, it is the practice 
of most of the large commercial growers to set only 
in the spring. This is done so that the plants may 
have plenty of time to make a full growth and mature 
an abundance of blossom buds, and the largest crops will 
be produced when planted at this time. Strong layers 



THE STEAWBERRY 155 

or potted plants will yield a few very large berries, and 
it is from these plants that we often obtain the prize 
berries, but the cost of plants and the small crop ob- 
tained does not warrant the outlay if grown for profit. 

PLANTS 

Only plants with young, white roots should be used 
if the best results are expected, and plants taken from 
a bed grown for fruiting are not as good as those grown 
for plants alone when all of the plants are dug out by 
lifting the soil for several inches deep. In digging, 
the plants should be protected from the air as soon as 



Fig. 79— Fig. 80— 

Method of Planting Perfect and Imperfect Varieties 

out of the ground by putting into sacks or covered 
baskets and be taken to a cellar or moist shed, where 
the dead leaves and runners are all pulled off, the roots 
straightened out and placed in bunches, or if to be sent 
away tied in bundles of twenty-five or fifty each. Placed 
in this way for a little time, the roots are straight and 
easily planted. If plants are to be shipped for some 
distance the roots should be packed in damp moss with 
the leaves exposed to the air, when they will keep for a 
long time in good condition. 

Staminate and Pistillate, or Perfect and Imperfect 
Plants — In selecting varieties it must be borne in mind 
that if those with pistils only are planted, little or 



156 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTUIiE 



no fruit will be produced, but if every third or fifth 
row be of a variety that has perfect flowers, all will be 
fertilized and a good crop the result. The diagram, 
Figure 79, illustrates* this planting; or if it is desired 
to secure plants of the staminate variety for planting 
unmixed, they may be planted as shown in Figure 80. 

PLANTIN^G 

There are many different ways of putting the plants 
into the ground, the success of any one of which depends 
upon the roots being placed deeply in the moist soil, 





Fig. 81— Planted Too Deep Fig. 82~Platited Too High 

well spread out and the soil firmed closely in contact 
with them. A very good way to determine if the plants 
are properly set is to take hold of the leaf, and if the 
plant pulls out it is not planted firmly enough, while 
if the leaf breaks off it is properly firmed. The depth 
to plant is illustrated by the accompanying figures: 
Figure 81 shows a plant set too deep. Figure 82 one 
too shallow, and Figure 83 one set just right. Methods 
or systems of planting are very numerous, but only two 
or three will receive attention here. 



The strawberry 



151^ 



The Hill System-^This consists in setting the 
plants in rows of from three to three and one-half feet 
apart and one foot apart in the row, and keeping 
the runners cut off, when at the end of the season 
each plant has made a large number of crown buds, and 
under favorable conditions will produce a large number 
of berries. All of the run- 
ners are of course pulled or 
cut off as they start out. 
The only serious objection 
to this system is that with 
the roots continually start- 
ing out higher on the crown 
as new buds are formed, the 
plants at the end of the 
season are rather shallow 
rooted, and are liable to be 
heaved out during the win- 
ter unless a deep covering 
of mulch is placed around 
them. This method has the 
advantage that with the runners removed the ground 
about the plants can be kept clean very easily and 
cheaply, and the fruit easily mulched and harvested. 

The Hedge Row System (of Kellogg) — This is 
a modification of the hill system, the plants being set 
in rows two and one-half to three feet apart, and in 




Fifr, 83— Planted Just Right 





X 


X 


X 


X 


X 


X 


X 





X 





X 





X 





X 


X 


X 


X 


X 


X 


X 


X 


X 



Fig. 84— The Hedge Row System 



the rows about two feet, and treated the same way as 
in the hill system except that plants are allowed to fill 
in the space at eight to ten inches apart. This is in 
fact but a modified hill system in which the hills come 



158 SUCCESSFUL PRUIT CULTURE 

close together, thus serving to protect one another, and, 
the ground being well filled with roots, there is less 
danger of their being heaved out by frost. The 
same heavy covering during the winter will be needed 
as with the hill system, taking care not to cover the 
crowns too deeply. In Figure- 84 the old plants are 
represented by o, the runners by x. 

Wide Matted Roiu — This consists in setting the 
plants in rows three, four or five feet apart, according 
to the richness of the soil, and one to two feet in the 




Fig. 85— Strawberry Field with Wide Matted Rows 

rows, and letting the runners grow over the space be- 
tween the rows from four to six inches apart, thtis 
making beds of fruiting plants eighteen inches to three 
feet wide. Figure 85 shows strawberry field of A. A. 
Marshall of Fitchburg, Mass., set 4x5 feet, and run into 
beds three feet wide; irrigation pipes are seen in the 
foreground. Some growers place the runners the proper 
distance apart as they grow, and others let the bed be 
covered in a natural way and then dig out the surplus 
plants in the fall, the last of August or early September. 
The first plan, however, is the better, as then each 



THE STRAWBERRY 159 

plant has an abundance of room to fully mature and 
will give a much larger crop of fruit with larger berries 
than the small plants of the second method. 

The Matted Row System — Probably more berries 
are grown by this system than by any other, and perhaps 
it requires less labor, yet the size of the fruit will be 
smaller and, in time of drouth, the ground between the 
plants not being stirred easih^, the roots Mall be near 
the surface, and therefore more injured. One advan- 
tage that the wide matted and the matted row have over 
the hill and the hedge row system is that the roots are 
running through all of the soil, holding it together, and 
the plants are not as likely to be thrown out by frost. 
Whatever the system, the crop will depend more upon 
whether the land is rich in plant food and has an 
abundant supply of moisture in it at the time the fruit 
is maturing than anything else. 

CULTIVATION" 

If the plants have been set in regular lines both 
ways, most of the work of cultivation can be done by 
the horse cultivator or the small hand cultivators, of 
which there are many different kinds. All of the run- 
ners are generally cut off until the plants get strong, 
or up to about the first of July, after which such as are 
needed are allowed to grow. After the runners begin 
to grow, if in the matted row, great care must be taken 
not to disturb them after they have become rooted. If 
the plants are grown by the hedge row or in the hill 
system, the runners being cut off before they are rooted, 
they will not interfere with the use of the hand or wheel 
hoe, and better work can be done, and be done more 
cheaply. The land should be kept fine and mellow to 
the depth of two or three inches, and the drier the time 
the more frequently the soil should be cultivated- 



160 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

If the plants are not making the growth that is 
desired, more fertilizer should be applied about July 1, 
and again early in September. Chemical fertilizers 
should not be applied when the leaves are wet, but, if 
dry, can be applied safely unless used in very large 
quantity. If it should adhere to the leaves it can be 
easily brushed off with a broom or by drawing a bush 
over the row. If large quantities of quickly soluble 
fertilizer like nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia or 
the potash salts be used, it must be scattered at a little 
distance from the plants and the soil must be frequently 
stirred to keep it from burning the leaves as it is 
deposited on the surface of the soil by evaporation. 

During the first season the young plants should be 
sprayed two or three times to keep the rust fungus from 
gaining a hold. In soils ^ that are infested with the 
plants known as the chickweeds, of which there are 
two troublesome species, which grow during very cold 
weather, the land must be cultivated until the ground 
freezes, and also in the spring the small chickweed 
plants must be weeded out. Under this condition the 
cost of cultivation is much increased and the crop will 
not be as large as in land free from this pest. 

IRRIGATION 

One of the great needs in strawberry growing is 
an abundance of water as the fruit is ripening, and even 
if the soil is naturally moist and we have done all that 
could be done to preserve what there is in it, there 
often comes a season when a crop would be largely 
benefited by the use of water on the surface. Of the 
profits resulting from the establishment of an artificial 
supply of water we have no figures, but that must depend 
largely upon the cost of the water and its applicaj:ion. 
If one is situated so that water can be carried to the 



THE STRAWBERRY 



161 



strawberry field by gravity in open ditches or cheap 
troughs, the cost need be but small, while if to be 
carried a long distance in pipes and be raised to a 
considerable hight it would be very much greater. There 
are two methods of applying water most generally em- 
ployed, the ditch method and the sprinkling method. 
The Ditch Method — This is the simplest and most 
used. The water is let into ditches at the upper part 
of the field where it can run down between the rows as 




Pig. 86— Ditch Method of irrigation 

shown in Figure 86. If the fall is so great that the soil 
will be washed, hay or straw is trodden into the ditch, 
when it will run more slowly and spread out better 
among the plants. If the land is nearly level, the water 
must be directed by means of frequent small ditches and 
be carried to different parts of the field by means of 
pipes or troughs. Cheap hose may be made of cotton 
cloth for this purpose that will last a long time if taken 
up and thoroughly dried after being used. 



162r SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

The Sprinkling Method — This method is not so 
much in use as the last^ but possesses some merits 
over it, as the water is applied in the most natural 
manner and over the whole surface, and when properly 
applied has generally given remarkable results. It 
can, however, be applied only where there is a good 
head or force to distribute in a fine spray to considerable 
distance. The best time for applying watei is an im- 
portant matter. It has been found that the same 
amount of water applied at night will d*o much more 
good than if applied in the morning, that there is less 
loss by evaporation, and the ground is less hardened. 
If water is applied, enough should be used to wet down 
to the. roots fully, or little or no benefit will result, for 
if only the surface soil is wet the roots work up to the 
surface and continued dry weather will be more de- 
structive than if no water were used. 

WIJS'TER PROTECTION" 

While the strawberry is perfectly hardy, growing, 
as it does, at the extreme I^^orth, if the ground is not 
covered with snow from the time it is frozen in the fall 
till settled weather comes on in the spring, the plants 
will be heaved out, and for this reason it is the practice 
of all Northern growers to cover the strawberry fields 
as soon as the ground is frozen in the fall. If deeply 
covered before the ground is frozen the plants are often 
smothered, and all of the old leaves destroyed, and, 
while this does not ruin the crop, yet the plants do not 
start with the vigor that they would if these leaves 
were uninjured. 

Mulching Material — Various materials are used for 
this purpose, among the best of which are pine needles, 
rye straw, oat straw, meadow or sedge hay, corn stover, 
buckw^heat straw, soy beans, etc., etc. ; of these perhaps 



THE STRAWBERRY 



163 



the best are the pine needles, clean r3^e or oat straw and 
soy bean straw. But whatever is used, it should be free 
from weed seeds, as nothing reduces the yield of a plan- 
tation more certainly than numerous small plants grow- 
ing about them and carrying off moisture and plant 
food from the land. 

In the spring the mulch is drawn off from the crown 
of the plants as soon as growth has begun, and after 
the plants have begun to bloom it is best to draw the 
mulch closely under them -so as to keep the fruit clean 
and the crown roots 
shaded. 

Some growers 
remove the mulch 
in the early spring, 
clean out all small 
weeds, stir the sur- 
face soil and then 
put it back close up 
about the plants 
again. This in- 
sures a clean bed 
and helps to retain 
the soil moisture 
that in light land 
is so often deficient. 




Fig. 87— Staminate or '♦Perfect' 
Strawberry Flower 

VARIETIES 



Among the hundreds of varieties that are in cul- 
tivation, there are many that succeed well in one place 
that do not do well in others, and the grower will have 
to depend largely upon trial of several sorts and the 
testimony of those who are successful in growing this 
fruit in his own locality. It may be said that no 
variety will succeed long in one locality. It is a fact 
that no varieties are generally grown now that were 



164 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



popular ten years ago, and some do not retain their 
vigor even that time. It is therefore the part of wisdom 
to have a trial bed of the most promising new kinds in 
order to know what is best adapted to each individual 
locality. The local experiment station will be the first 
to try all promising kinds, the best of which each grower 
should give a trial. Varieties are either staminate, or 
perfect (Figure 87), those having both stamens and pis- 
tils, and will bear fruit if planted alone, or pistillate 
.(Figure 88), the flowers having only pistils, and must be 

planted near some 
staminate variety to 
produce fruit. The 
pistillate flowered 
varieties are more 
productive, as 
a general rule, than 
are the staminate 
kind, due probably 
to the strain on the 
flower of the latter 
to produce pollen. 
Among the varie- 
ties that are most 
grown are: 

Clyde — A stam- 

plant and freedom 

rather light land. 




Fig. 



88— Pistillate or "Imperfect" 
Strawberry Flower 



of 



inate variety of great vigor 

from disease that does well on 

when the plants are not too close together, but on 

heavy soil, or if the plants are very close together, the 

color is poor and the berry is soft. It requires a rich 

soil to make it carry out to perfection the large crop 

of berries that it will set. 

Haverland — A pistillate variety that has made the 
largest record for productiveness of any now in cultiva- 
tion. The fruit is medium to large, and is borne on 



THE STRAWBERRY 165 

long and slender stalks that do not stand up under the 
weight of its heavy crop of fruit. This fault, together 
with the small size of the berries under ordinary condi- 
tions, places it in the list of only medium value. 

Glen Mary — A perfect Howered variety of vigorous 
growth and good quality. The fruit is large but some- 
what irregular in form. The flowers do not produce 
as much pollen as some other varieties, and if planted 
as a fertilizer for pistillate sorts it should be planted 
in every third or fourth row. 

Sample — One of the most productive pistillate 
varieties, producing berries of large size and good qual- 
ity. For general purposes it has proved one of the 
most profitable. It is medium in season and often 
carries its fruit very late. 

Brandywine — One of the most vigorous perfect 
flowered varieties, producing berries of large size, firm 
and of the best of quality. It is a rather late variety, 
and under most conditions is productive, but under 
others it is reported as not productive. It is a good 
pollenizer f or late varieties. 

Other varieties that are of value under some 
conditions are Bubach, Senator Dunlap, Nick Ohmer, 
Seaford, Gandy, Warfield, Excelsior, Marshall, etc., etc. 

MARKETING 

The strawberry is a very perishable fruit, and must 
be handled with the greatest skill to give the best 
results. If possible the picking should be done early 
in the morning or the latter part of the day, and after 
picking at any time the fruit should be taken to some 
cool place where there is not too much of a draft of air 
to dry them too rapidly. It is not advisable to put them 
on the ice, if it can be avoided, on account of the con- 
densed moisture that will collect on the berries when 



166 SUCCESSFUL FKUIT CULTURE 

brought from the cold storage, yet if properly exposed 
to cool, dry air for a little time after being taken from 
cold storage they will not be injured by this treatment. 

Package — The quart basket is almost universally 
used, packed in a bushel (thirty-two-quart), twenty- 
four-quart, and sixteen-quart crate or carrier. Most of 
the thirty-two-quart crates are now considered as gift 
jjackages, and are not returned to the shipper, but are 
sold to local growers near the markets for ten cents 
each. If the grower delivers his fruit to the retailer 
he may have his crates reserved, and thus only a small 
number will be needed to market a large crop of berries. 
One of the best packages for carrying and displaying 
the fruit is the "Marshall" carrier. Figure 89, in which 
twenty-four quarts of berries are packed, and it has the 
advantage that all of the fruit is exposed to the view 
of the purchaser without removing any partitions, and 
if well put up will attract customers by the large amount 
of fruit exposed in one mass. This figure shows thirty 
quarts, with only from eight to fifteen berries in a 
basket. Soiled baskets should never be used, as the 
fruit shows to better advantage in new baskets, and 
the new ones are as cheap as old baskets collected from 
the consumers. 

Picking — This is one of the greatest problems of 
the strawberry grower. Some employ boys, some men 
and some women. The first are the most difficult to 
manage, and do the work in the most uncertain way. 
Grirls and women do their work well, are easily managed, 
but are rather slow in many cases. Quick, active young 
men make good pickers ; the cost per quart, however, is 
much greater, but they can often be brought into the 
field in times of an emergency when other help is not 
available. Numerous methods of recording the number 
of boxes picked by the different pickers have been de- 
vised, perhaps one of the best of which is the card system. 



THE STRAWBERRY* 167 

where the picker keeps his record card, and when fruit 
has been picked the record is made by punching out the 
proper number of boxes. At the end of each day or 
week, as the case may be, the first card is taken up and 
the total number is punched on another card, which 
is kept by the picker until payment is made. In picking 
the fruit, each berry should be picked by the stem, and 
not be pulled off, and for a local market should be, 
allowed to become fully ripe before being picked. 

Sorting and Packing — It will be found very difficult ' 
to find pickers in many places who will sort the fruit |^> 
as picked so that it will be most satisfactory for a fancy ^ 
market, and it is therefore the practice of most growers 
of fancy fruit to have it sorted and packed in a shed or 
house near the strawberry field. All that is done often, 
where the pickers are reliable, is to sort over and pack 
the top layer of berries, picking out any defective berries 
and replacing them with sound ones, and turning the !." 
top layer so as to present the best appearance. Others ;: 
turn out all of the berries in a box and sort and pack /- 
all of the fruit. This must be done very carefully, or :'_^ 
the berries will be so crushed that they will not stand "^^'^s 
up long after they reach the market. If, however, this % 
is properly done, the fruit will keep longer, for all of 
the overripe berries having been removed, decay will be 
less rapid, and much better prices be obtained. 

Many growers make two sorts, those that are perfect 
in every way and of large size, and those of small size 
and possibly with some other defect. The second grades 
are sold for canning, making syrups, etc., and often will 
sell at as good prices as the average run of berries not 
sorted, while the fancy berries bring high prices and 
sell the seconds. 

The common bushel crate or carrier is the most 
used for shipping to near markets, but when shipped 
long distances those holding forty-eight or sixty-four 



THE STRAWBERRY 169 

quarts are largely in use. The Marshall carrier (Figure 
89), holding twenty-four quarts, is especially adapted to 
fancy berries, as all the fruit can be seen at once upon 
taking olf the cover, and presents the most attractive 
appearance possible. 

For insects and fungous pests, see Chapters XX 
and XXI. 



XV 

THE CRANBERRY 

( Vaccinium oxy coccus) 

This delicious fruit is distributed over almost the 
entire country and under favorable conditions produces 
large and profitable crops. The entire crop of the 
country for a single season has been over 808,000 
bushels, of which Massachusetts produced 432,000 
bushels, New Jersey 175,000 bushels, Wisconsin 101,000 
bushels. It can only be profitably grown in a soil nearly 
saturated with water, bogs and wet nieadows being 
utilized for this crop. The conditions "for success are 
wet, boggy land, with an abundant supply of water, 
so that the "bog'' may be flooded in a short time in 
case of a late frost in the spring when the plants are 
in bloom, during the summer to prevent injury from 
the "leaf roller" insect, and in the fall to protect from 
frost before the fruit is gathered. Water should be 
in sufficient supply also to keep the bog flowed all 
winter. 

PREPARATION OF THE BOG 

All growth of trees, bushes, grasses or other plants 
must be removed from the surface and the bog made 
level by grading. Ditches should be made at intervals 
so that the water may set back into them to hasten 
flooding, and to quickly drain away the water after 
flooding. The level of the water in the ditches for the 
best results is from ten to twelve inches below the surface 



THE CRANBERRY 171 

at all times. After all growth has been removed froni 
the surface and the land roughly graded perfectly level, 
it should be made as fine and mellow as possible, after 
which a covering of clean, sharp sand from three to 
six inches deep is spread evenly over it. The land is 
then ready for the plants. 

Setting the Plants — The plants, or rather cuttings, 
are the end runners of established bogs, twelve to fifteen 
inches long, cut from the edges of the rows or paths, 
or often taken from some more solid part of the bed. 
If possible these " cuttings should be taken from some 
spot where the plants are producing large crops of 
large, finely colored berries. The bog is marked off in 
from nine to eighteen-inch squares, and the cuttings, 
three or four in a bunch, are forced through the sand 
into the fine soil below with a blunt wooden dibble or 
paddle, and the sand pressed firmly about them. In 
planting the cuttings, care should be taken not to break 
off the lower end of them in forcing through the sand. 
After planting no weeds should be allowed to grow, all 
that appear being pulled out by hand. It is not the 
general practice of growers to use the hand hoe unles.3 
obliged to do so, and a good bog is so soft that it would 
not hold up a horse. Sometimes when the land is espe- 
cially poor, a light dressing of any good commercial 
fruit fertilizer just before the sand is put on or after 
the plantation has been in bearing several years, will 
produce marvelous results. Well prepared bogs will 
yield good crops the third year, and after this nearly a 
full crop every year, unless insects or frosts destroy 
them. The yield of a good bog under favorable condi- 
tions has often been between one hundred and two hun- 
dred bushels per acre. The average of all bogs in the 
Cape Cod section in a single season has been one hundred 
and seventeen bushels; that of the country between 
eighty and ninety bushels. * 



172 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

HARVESTING 

This crop must be harvested before fall frosts unless 
water facilities are such that the bog can be flooded 
at ten or twelve hours' notice. The crop is gathered 
by hand picking and by means of the rake or scoop. 
With the latter 400 to 450 quarts per day are picked 
by the most active pickers^ while hand pickers will 
hardly pick more than 300 quarts unless the crop is 
large and thick. 

Storing and Marketing — The cranberry is a fruit 
that keeps well in an airy, cool, but not too dry place, 
the temperature never going down to thirty-two degrees. 




Fig. 90— The Large Bell Cranberry 

For home use, if put in fruit jars and covered with 
cold water, the fruit will keep until May or June if 
placed in a moderately cool cellar. It is most largely 
sold in barrels of about 100 quarts. Prices obtained 
range from $3.50 to $15 per barrel, an average of about 
$7. Some markets demand the fruit in crates, and many 
dealers buy in barrels and repack in crates or boxes. 

RENEWING A CRANBERRY BOG 

After ten or fifteen years of fruiting many bogs 
'begin to fail, and are renewed by resurfacing, or with 



THE CRANBERRY 173 

little expense by again covering with sand. A liglit 
covering of sand every five years would probably give 
satisfactory results. It is found in some cases that 
a light dressing of superphosphate will give the plants 
a vigorous start and greatly improve the yield and 
quality of the fruit. 

INJURIOUS INSECTS 

Two insects have become somewhat of a menace to 
the cranberry crop — the "leaf roller'^ and the berry 
moth. The former is prevented from doing serious 
damage by flowing for a few days or a week soon after 
they begin to work seriously. The berry moth is more 
or less destroyed by the use of arsenate of lead sprayed 
upon the plants and fruit while quite small. For 
further particulars as to controlling insect pests, see 
bulletins of Massachusetts and New Jersey experiment 
stations. 

Many varieties of cranberries are now being grown. 
They may be divided into three groups, i. e., the Bell, 
Olive and Bugle types. Figure 90 shows the large 
Bell variety. 



XYI 



THE BLUEBERRY AND HUCKLEBERRY 

( (Vaccinium Canadense) 
BLUEBERRY < {Vaccinium corymbosum) 
t {Vaccinium vacillans) 

HUCKLEBERRY {Gciylussacia resinosa) 

While these berries are found in our markets in 
considerable quantities in almost every section of the 
countr}'-, the supply comes wholly from bushes grown 
in the pastures^ fields and swamps. Many attempts have 
been made to cultivate it in garden and field, but with 
poor or indifferent success. Like most plants growing 
naturally on land with a good soil cover, they become 
weakened and soon fail if exposed to much sun and 
air about the roots and lower branches. In the pas- 
tures and meadows the ground is shaded by grass and 
undergrowth, and the stems of the bushes by close 
growing foliage about them, and to insure even a mod- 
erate growth these conditions must be provided in the 
garden. The natural soil cover of the meadows may 
be replaced by leaves, old hay or even by a close planting 
and a mulch of fine soil, and if the soil is naturally a 
little moist or the season cool and moist, a fair growth 
will be made. An acid soil seems to be a necessity in 
growing this fruit. 

TRANSPLANTING 

Plants that will come up with a bog or clump of 
roots should be selected, and only those producing the 



THE BLUEBERRY AND HUCKLEBERRY 175 

largest berries taken. Cut back severely and set close 
together about as deep as they stood in the pasture^ 
tramping the soil firmly ajout the roots. A mulch 
should be placed around the roots and if very dry a lib- 
eral amount of water be poured into the holes to settle 
the soil about the roots before the mulch is put on. 
Additional mulch or manure should be j)laced about them 
when it becomes thin. Another method of treatment 
which is more generally satisfactory is to clear a blue- 
berry or huckleberry lot of everything but good, strong 
bushes of these fruits. Divide into three lots and early 
in the spring spread manure or fertilizer among them. 
Then mow the tops of one plot close to the ground. The 
two plots not cut down will produce a large crop of fruit 
if the season is favorable, and the new canes on the 
other plot will make a strong growth that for the next 
two years will yield very large and fine fruit. The 
second spring plot No. 2 is cut down, and N'o. 3 and 
N'o, 1 bear fruit. After this three years^ rotation two 
plots of bushes will be producing vigorous canes that 
will yield an abundance of fine fruit, if, in addition to 
cutting back, an occasional dressing of manure or 
fertilizer be applied. 

Many brush pastures, by a little thinning out of 
"robber" plants, treated in the above manner, may be 
made a source of considerable income. Women and 
children can generally be found who will pick the ber- 
ries on shares "if the picking is good,'^ and the fruit be 
gathered when it will bring the best prices. 



XYII 

SVB'TROPICAL FRUITS 

THE ORANGE 

THE SOUR OEANGPJ {CUrus aurantlum) 

THE SWEET ORAi^GE (CUrus aurantium dulcis) 

THE MAXDARiN ORANGE {C itrus aurantium nohilis) 

THE POMELO^ GRAPE ERUIT^ ETC. (CUrus decumana) 

THE HARDY ORANGE {Citrus trifoUata) 

THE LEMON {Citrus Ufnonum) 

Next to the apple the orange is by far the most 
important fruit in the United States, although it can 
be grown only in. special localities. It is to the Southern 
sections of the country what the apple is to the Northern 
sections. It is a good shipping fruit, even better than 
the apple, and its beautiful color and delicious flavor 
make it a close rival. Orange growers are generally 
very enthusiastic in their work, and well they should 
be, for the beautiful tree with its bright green leaves 
and wonderfully fragrant white flowers, followed by its 
golden fruit, makes it an object for admiration, and 
when the work is carried on in a systematic, business- 
like way, except when injured by frost, orange growing 
is profitable. 

While easily grown, the trees must have constant 
care to keep them growing vigorously, and to protect 
them from insect pests, and in some sections to protect 
them from frosts. 



THE ORANGE 177 



PLANTING THE ORCHARD 



Orchards are started in two ways: (1) by planting 
trees already budded with desirable varieties, and (2) 
by planting seedlings (stocks) in the orchard and bud- 
ding them after one or two years^ growth. The best 
stock for the extreme South is the sour orange,, and for 
Northern sections the hardy orange (C. trifoliata). In 
a general way the preparation of the soil, pruning of 
the tree before planting, etc., are the same as for the 
apple or peach. In planting an orange orchard or 
grove, local conditions of soil, exposure and markets 
must be very carefully studied. In different sections 
the distance varies much, according to the variety grown, 
the method of pruning and richness of soil, so that no 
rule can be given. Enough room should be given for 
the full development of the trees. 

Training the Trees— k. round, low-headed, compact 
tree with an abundance of foliage is the ideal condition. 
If possible give the tree a slightly conical form by 
keeping the leader or central shoot a little stronger 
than the lateral branches. In other words, don^t let 
the laterals outgrow the leader. The low head has 
many advantages. All the work of trimming, thinning, 
spraying, harvesting and protecting from frosts can 
be more cheaply and better done on low trees, and 
less fruit will be blown off in case of cyclones or heavy 
storms. 

Cultivation — As with other orchard fruits, the aim 
should be to produce a vigorous and healthy tree. If 
the soil is naturally rich and drouth resistant, less cul- 
tivation and less fertilizing material will be needed. If 
the soil is very thin, even with a large application of 
plant food, very frequent cultivation must be prac- 
ticed. Where the supply of water for irrigation is 
abundant, less plant food and less stirring of the soil 



178 



SUCCESSFUL FKUIT CULTURE 



will be needed^ but very few good crops are grown, even 
under these conditions, without considerable cultivation. 
A very cheap source of organic matter (humus) in the 




Fig. 91— Orange Tree in Tub 

soil may be produced by sowing cover crops of clover, 
vetch or other leguminous crops about the time the 
trees are maturing their main annual growth. If there 



THE ORANGE 179 

is any one season when drouth is more likely to occur 
than another, care must be taken that the cover crop 
is not making its greatest growth at this time, as 
with the great loss of plant food and moisture in this 
way at such a time the trees are likely to be seriously 
injured. 

Protection from Frost — To secure fruit and trees 
from injury by frost, provisions must be made for their 
protection, which should be ready at all times for use 
at shortest notice. When the trees are grown close to 
the ground coarse hay, reeds, brush or other similar 
material can be quickly piled up around the trunks 
and in among the branches at but little expense. Such 
material could no doubt be obtained near at hand or 
be grown especially for this purpose. After danger 
is past it could be used for bedding or for mulch. 
Folding covers, lined with paper, could be employed 
over small trees, which, if kept stored in a dry, airy 
place, would last a lifetime, and often in a single night 
save the results of years of labor and much invested 
capital. Other methods of protection may also be sug- 
gested, all of which should be investigated before 
adopting any of them. Figure 91 shows a sweet Florida 
orange tree grown in a tub, by Mr. E. H. Wrenn, Mt. 
Airy, N. C. It is eight and one-half feet high and its 
top ten feet in diameter. In winter it is kept in a 
brick store, heated with a stove, and in summer out of 
doors. It bore over 200 oranges the past season. 

VARIETIES 

As with all other kinds of fruit, the varieties 
of oranges are very numerous, and new and im- 
proved kinds are constantly coming to notice. The 
work being done by the Department of Agriculture at 
Washingion in searching every orange growing section 



180 SUCCESSFUL FEUIT CULTURE 

of the world for choice varieties to be tested in this 
country will no doubt lead to a rapid improvement, and 
each grower must follow this investigation and be 
ready to adopt those that prove the best. Among the 
varieties now largely grown may be mentioned Boone's 
Early, Satsuma, Homosassa, Jaifa, Maltese Blond, Pine- 
apple, Washington l^avel, etc. 

POMELO (grape fruit) 

This fruit is practically a large orange with a thick 
skin and an acid, slightly bitter pulp. It requires nearly 
the same treatment as the orange. A few varieties to 
be recommended are Duncan, Eoyal, Triumph, etc. 



KUMQUAT (gold ORANGE) 

A most beautiful ornamental tree producing very 
small fruit in immense numbers. The rind as well as 
the pulp is edible, the fruit being especially valuable 
for preserving in the whole state. The great beauty of 
the trees, their great productiveness, and the quality of 
the fruit, especially when preserved, should make this 
fruit very popular in the near future. 

THE FIG 

(Ficus carica) 

While almost a tropical fruit, the fig, by careful 
manipulation and winter covering, may be made to bear 
fruit as far north as New England. In the South it 
must be grown rather slowly after it reaches fruiting 
age, as a rapid growth tends to the formation of leaf 
buds rather than fruit buds. The soil should not be 
cultivated deeply, as the roots run near the surface. 



THE PERSIMMON 



181 



Tho strong new shoots that outgrow their neighbors 
should be pinched back when they have reached the 
desired length. This is much better than to allow long 
shoots to grow without checking and finally cutting off 
large shoots at the end of the season. 

At the North small trees may be grown in tubs or 
boxes, putting them in a warm, sunny place in sum- 
mer, and storing in a dry, warm cellar or pit during the 
winter. They are 
sometime* even 
grown in the 
garden if planted 
in a warm, dry 
soil in the sum- 
mer, and should 
be covered deeply 
in the winter 
with soil so that 
they will not 
freeze, but the tub 
or box system is 
much the best. 
Among the best 
varieties are the 

Black Ischia, Brunswick and White Adriatic. A bear- 
ing branch of the fig tree is seen in Figure 92. 




Fig. 92— Bearing Branch of the Pig Tree 



THE PERSIMMON 

AMERICAN (Diospyros Virginiand) 
JAPANESE (Diospyros Kdki) 

This fruit, a native of the Middle and Southern 
States, is one that should be given more attention. When 
ripe the fruit is beautiful, of good quality, and is pro- 
duced in large quantities. Few trees are planted in 
orchards, though some of the new varieties would war- 



183 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

rant their extensive cultivation. When grown in a 
too rich soil the trees are often destroyed by cold, there- 
fore at the N'orth it is best to plant in a rather light soil. 
The fruit of most varieties is not edible until the decay- 
ing process almost sets in, when they become very 
delicious. The Japanese persimmons are much supe- 
rior in size and quality, and are becoming of some com- 
mercial importance in the South. They are not hardy 
north of Washington. It is grafted upon the native 
stock, which may tend to make it more hardy. An effort 
is being made to 23roduce new varieties of the native 
species^ as well as from crosses with the Japanese, and 
we look for a great improvement in this fruit. Among 
the best varieties now in cultivation are Hyakume, 
Taber's No. 129, Yeddo, etc., etc. 

The cultivation required for success is not unlike 
that to be given to the Japanese plum oi' peach, though 
it is not as easily transplanted as either of the above. 

THE LOQUAT 

{Eriohotrya Japonica) 

The Japanese medlar or Japanese plum, as it is 
sometimes called, is a delicious fruit about the size of 
the Eeine Claude plum, but of a brighter color. The 
fruit ripens in March and April, and while the trees 
are hardy as far north as the Middle South, its fruit 
matures only as far north as the middle of Florida. 
The leaves are large, dark green above, with a whitish 
down upon the under side, making it a decidedly orna- 
mental tree. In Southern Florida it is being somewhat 
extensively planted, and the fruit often finds its way 
into nearby markets, but is little seen in the Northern 
markets. Besides its being used in a fresh state, eaten 
from the hand, it is preserved, having something of 
the flavor of sweet cherries. 



XYIII 

THE PROPAGATION OF FRUIT TREES 
AND PLANTS 

While it may not generally be advisable for the 
fruit grower to attempt to grow trees for his own 
planting, in many cases it may be best and profitable 
to do so, and it certainly will be of great advantage to 
all to know how they are propagated, to enable them 
to judge of the value of the trees they buy, and if one 
can have well grown ones on his own place, ready to 
transplant at just the right time, and in a perfectly 
fresh condition, they will be much more sure to do well 
than the average nursery trees. 

In this chapter I shall attempt to give only the 
practice of the most reliable nurseries, so illustrated 
that with a little practice the intelligent and energetic 
man may grow good trees for his own planting, and 
perhaps supply some to his neighbors. The boys and 
girls should become interested in this work, in which 
they might soon become skillful, and perhaps lay the 
foundation for the establishment of the nursery business 
in sections not now supplied with home grown trees. 

THE PROPAGATION" OF THE APPLE 

None of the varieties of the apple reproduce the 
same kind from seed. Thus there has never been but 
one Baldwin apple tree grown from seed; all of the 
trees of this variety, except the first one, that came 
from seed, have been grown by inserting buds or cions 



184 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

from this tree, or others like it, into other seedling 
stocks. The stocks most in use for this purpose are 
those imported from France or other European coun- 
tries, where the people have gained great skill, and 
where the price of labor is much less than in this 
country, though a few of our nurserymen grow good 
native stocks, either from imported seed or that from 
strong natural or unbudded trees. 

If only a small number of seedlings are needed, the 
seed can be obtained from strong trees of natural fruit, 
separating it from the pulp or planting the whole apples, 
first cutting them into quarters and planting in the fall 
before the ground freezes. If the seed is cleaned it may 
be planted in the fall, where the mice or squirrels will 
not destroy it, or it may be kept over in dry sand Dr fine 
^ry loamy soil buried in the ground where there is no 
standing water, care being taken that the sand does not 
become wet. In the spring the seed should be sown 
as soon as the soil will work fine and mellow. 

The Seedbed — Any rather moist, rich loam will 
grow good apple seedlings if it is properly prepared. It 
should be deeply worked with the plow or spade and 
well enriched with partly decomposed stable manure, or 
with fine ground bone and potash at the rate of 1500 
pounds of the former to 500 pounds of the latter per 
acre. After the seedbed has been thoroughly fitted the 
seed should be sown in drills fifteen inches apart if to 
be cultivated by hand, or thirty inches if it is to be 
done by the horse, and be covered about one-half inch 
deep. After the seedlings are an inch or two high they 
should be thinned to about two inches apart, weeding 
out all weak or defective seedlings, and during the season 
cultivate thoroughly at least once a week. If in July 
the seedlings are not making the growth they ought, 
some quick acting fertilizer should be scattered along 
the row and cultivated in. 



PROPAGATION" OP TREES AND PLANTS 



185 



Digging the Seedlings — In the fall, before the 
ground freezes, the seedlings, which should have made 
a growth o-f from one to two feet, must be carefully dug 
and heeled-in, i. e., packed in trenches of light soil, 
where there will be no standing water, with the soil 
carefully worked in among the roots and nearly all of 
the top covered with soil, and as very cold weather comes 
on a covering of straw 
or hay be put on to 
keep the ground from 
deep freezing. If the 
seedlings are to be 
root grafted, they are 
washed after digging 
and packed in sphag- 
num moss o-r sawdust 
and put into a very 
cool cellar. 

Root Grafting — 
Much has been said 
pro and con as to the 
value of the root- 
grafted apple tree as 
compared with the 
budded tree, and it 
may be said that both, 
are good when the 
work is properly done, 
and the writer believes that a root graft, skillfully made 
in December or January, and carefully stored in a cool 
cellar in moist sand or light soil until the last of April 
and then planted in a rich soil, will make as good a 
tree as most budded stocks, but, for the amateur, 
budding will give the best results. 

The root graft is made by taking the seedling and 
first trimming off the lateral roots and the end of the 




Fig. 93 Fig. 94 Fig. 95 
Root Grafting 



186 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

main root to about six to eight inches long. A cut is 
then made just below the collar about an inch long, 
as seen in Figure 93. A tongue is then cut at A B; the 
cion^ Figure 94, a piece of the last season's growth of the 
variety desired, is then taken, and a similar cut is 
made at A B, the two being pressed together with the 
cambium layers of both stock and cion in as close 
contact as is possible, as seen in Figure 95. The graft is 
then tied firmly and evenly with waxed string, waxed 
cloth or raffia fiber. The success of the work depends 
upon the smoothness of the cut, the perfection of the 
union of the cambium layers, and close and firm tying. 
To shut out the air and moisture from the grafted sur- 
face and insure a more complete union, it is best to 
cover the cut with grafting wax or with waxed cloth after 
tying.' After the grafts have been made they should 
be packed in boxes in moist sand or" fine sandy soil, 
pressing the packing very firmly about the grafted 
parts. After the box is filled it is placed in an upright 
position, that any growth that may take place will 
be toward the union of the graft. The grafts should 
be planted as soon in the spring as the soil will work 
up light and mellow, and they are best set with a 
dibber or spade, the top bud being set at the level of 
the grQund. 

In planting with the spade the blade is inserted 
to *its full depth, worked back and forth until the 
desired space is made, when a graft is placed at each end 
of the opening made, and one in the middle, thus setting 
them about four inches apart, with the top bud just at 
the surface of the soil. The spade is then again inserted 
a few inches outside of this opening and the soil pressed 
very firmly against the grafts. The soil should then 
be trodden firmly on both sides. In taking the root 
grafts from the boxes it is best to keep them in a pail 
of water until they are planted. 



PROPAGATION 01* TREES AND PLANTS 



187 



Budding— YoT propagation by budding, the seed- 
lings that have been heeled-in the previous fall are 
taken up as soon as the land will work up mellow in 
the spring, the ends and lateral roots trimmed as for 
root grafting, and planted in the same manner as the 
root grafts, except that they are set only as deep as 
they stood in the seedbed. The seedling and the root 
graft are now planted in the nursery and in a few 
days after planting the surface of the soil must be made 
fine and mellow and be kept in this condition through- 
out the growing season. To insure 
success in budding, the stocks must 
be made to grow vigorously and be 
kept free from insects and fungous 
pests by spraying with kerosene and 
the bordeaux mixture. 

Budding is best done when the 

seedlings are approaching maturity, 

ranging from the first of August 

to September 15 in different parts 

of the country, but it must be done 

when the bark will peel readily. 

The buds used should be those from 

vigorous fruiting trees that produce 

the type of fruit desired. Before the 

work of budding begins, a sufficient number of bud sticks 

(Figure 96) should be prepared, as well as an abundance 

of tying material (raffia fiber) cut to the proper lengths, 

according to the size of the stocks to be budded. The 

bud sticks and tying material are carried in a moistened 

wrapper slung over the left shoulder, so as to be readily 

reached by the right hand. The stocks should then be 

trimmed for five or six inches above the ground of all 

shoots and leaves, so as not to interfere with the work 

of budding. A sharp shoe knife with a thin blade and 

a rounded" point is generally used, though the budding 




Fig. 96— Bud Stick 



188 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



knives (Figure 97) sold by dealers in horticultural 
supplies are preferable. 

The process of budding consists in first making 
a cross cut, as shown in Figure 98, then turning the 
knife and starting about three-quarters of an inch below, 
making an upward cut to the cross cut, where by a quick 
turn of the hand the bark on both sides of the cut is 
raised, as shown in Figure 99. A bud stick is then taken, 
and, placing the knife about half an inch below the 
bud, a cut is made through the bark upward, taking a 
little of the wood with the bud. The bud is then 
held by the stalk of the leaf that has been left for 





Pig. 97— Budding Knives 



the purpose, and the point inserted under the raised 
barkNand pressed down until it is well in place, as seen 
in Figure 100. If the bark does not peel quite readily 
enough the rounded point of the knife is pushed under 
the raised points and run downward, raising it so that 
the hud will be properly set, but buds will not be as 
sure to grow as if the bark peels with the pressure of 
the bud as it is forced down in place. After being 
inserted the bud must be firmly and evenly tied with 
some soft and flat tying material or soft string, as seen 
in Figure 101. The material most in use is raffia fiber, 
so commonly employed for tying asparagus and other 
vegetables. 



PROPAGATION OF TREES AND PLANTS 



189 



The conditions of success are: (1) a vigorous grow- 
ing stock; (2) a well matured bud; (3) a sharp, thin- 
bladed knife; (4) a clean, smooth cut; (5) little 
exposure to the air and a good fit under the bark; (6) 
firm and even binding. After the buds have been in- 
serted a week or two the stocks should be examined, 
and if the bands are cutting into them, the result of 
rapid growth, they should be loosened a little, or if the 





Pig. 98 



Fig. 99 



Fig. 100 



Fig. 101 



bud has united sufficiently a cut may be made on the 
side opposite the bud, when the band will be gradually 
loosened by the continued growth of the stock. 

The buds require no further care until the following 
spring, when the stock is cut off just above the inserted 
bud, and we have practically the same condition as in 
the root graft just planted, except that, in the latter, 
one year's growth of roots has been made in the nursery, 
while in the former it has been just transplanted. 

Nursery Treatment— Taking the budded seedling 
and the newly transplanted root graft, we will give the 
treatment required to produce a first-class tree for 



190 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE! 



f 
I 




orchard planting. The conditions of success are: (1) 
a rich soil and frequent and thorough cultivation; (2) 
allow only one bud to grow, i. e., the bud inserted into 
the stock in budding and the top bud of the cion on 
the root graft; (3) allow only one shoot to grow (Figure 
102), a clean, ' straight growth being necessary to a 
satisfactory tree. The young trees must be protected 
from injury by insects and fungous diseases as in the 

orchard, and the 
same methods are 
to be employed. 

At the begin- 
ning of the second 
year, and before 
the growth begins, 
the one-y e a r-old 
shoot should be 
cut back to the 
bight at which it 
is desired to have 
the top formed. 
(Figure 103.) 
This bight may be 
from two to four 
feet, according to 
the method of training to be followed in the growth of 
the young tree, those not having made over two or 
three feet being cut back to the ground for a new start. 
Buds of those trees that have been topped at from two to 
four feet high will start all along from the top of the 
ground in most cases (Figure 102«), but only a few at 
the top are generally allowed to grow, the others either 
being rubbed off as soon as well started, or being allowed 
to grow an inch or two and then the ends pinched to 
check their growth, thus forcing all development into 
the branches desired for the head. These branches 




., iir- _jr? j wi ._. 



Fig. 102 



Fig. 103 



Nursery Treatment of Young Trees 



PROPAGATION OF TREES AND PLANTS 191 

pinched are to be finally cut off close to the trunk. The 
last method has the advantage of making a more stocky 
tree, though not quite so smooth and clean. 

At the end of the second year apple trees, either 
root grafts or budded stock, should stand from five to 
seven feet high, and be from three-fourths to one inch 
in diameter at the ground, with four or five strong 
shoots near the top and evenly placed on all sides of 
the trunk. Such trees, i. e., two-year trees, are better 
than those older or younger for general planting, and 
should not be allowed to stand longer in the nursery. 
Digging Trees from the Nursery — The value of 
nursery trees to the purchaser largely depends upon how 
many of the roots are secured in digging them from 
the ground, and how long they are exposed to the air 
before they are planted in the soil again. The best 
way to get them from the ground is to first dig the 
soil away from the tree down to the roots, which will 
be, in well cultivated land, about six inches. Then with 
sharp spades cut a circle around the tree at from one 
to two feet, according to the size of the tree, severing 
all roots that go outside of that limit. With two strong 
spades, one on each side, and a third man to pull, the 
tree is then lifted out with the largest amount of roots 
that it is possible to secure. If a large number of trees 
is to be dug and the help is limited, all of those 
of one variety are first loosened and then, going over 
the row again, all are taken quickly from the ground 
and the roots covered, or each kind may be planted before 
another kind is dug. Trees should never be kept out of 
the ground any longer than is absolutely necessary. If 
trees are to be transported a long distance, the roots 
should be protected from drying by the process known 
as "puddling,'' which consists in dipping them in a 
thick mixture of clay and water, the covering thus formed 
making an almost air-tight covering over the roots. 



192 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

Trees from Home vs. Distant Nurseries — The ques- 
tion as to whether it is best to grow our own trees^ to 
purchase them from nurseries near home^ or to send to 
sections a long distance away where they have peculiar 
advantages of soil or special skill that comes from long 
practice which enables them to grow better trees and 
at a lower price^ is one that needs careful consideration. 
There can be no doubt as to the value of two trees 
equally well grown^ the one from a nursery within a 
short distance of the place of planting, where they may 
be dug and planted the same day^, and one grown hun- 
dreds of miles away. The one grown in the home 
nursery will be, beyond question, the best to plant. 

It is the practice of local nurseries to buy young 
stock of parties who are very skillful, and are growing 
in large quantities, plant them in their own nurseries 
for a year or two, and then sell to the local trade. These 
trees are, as a rule, more sure to grow than trees planted 
at first hand, but are more expensive. The question as 
to where to obtain the best trees for planting is an 
important one, and can only be settled by a very careful 
consideration of all the surrounding conditions, but one 
thing must be impressed on the planter — ^that it does 
not pay to buy poor stock at any price. 

PROPAGATION OF TPIE PEAR 

The pear is propagated in practically the same 
way as the apple, but requires more care in the selection 
of the seed, in the growth of the seedlings and in their 
care in the nursery. The stocks most in use by the 
nurserymen are imported, and called French stocks, 
but by a careful selection of seed and an especially good 
soil, good native seedling stocks may be grown. 

The varieties of the pear are generally increased 
b}^ budding (see. page 189). Some nurserymen, how- 



PROPAGATION OF TREES AND PLANTS 193 

ever, use the root graft, though this method cannot be 
recommended for general use. 

Nursery Treatment — The best soil for the growth 
of good trees in the nursery is a deep, moist loam, per- 
haps a little clayey, but thoroughly underdrained. The 
seedlings are cared for and planted in the same manner 
• as the apple, but more attention must be given to them 
that they do not cease growing from the time planted 
until they are budded, for, if from want of plant food 
or moisture they are checked in growth, the leaf blight 
may attack them, the leaves fall, and budding cannot 
be done. If it is found at any time in July that growth 
is weak, some quick acting fertilizer should be scattered 
in a furrow close up to the roots and be cultivated in. 
Frequent cultivation must be kept up from the time the 
seedlings are set out until budding is completed — once 
a week is not too often — and in case of drouth more 
frequent working of the soil will be advisable. The leaf 
blight fungus, described in Chapter XXI, is more likely 
to attack pear seedlings in hot, moist weather, in low 
land, than upon that in full exposure to air and sunlight. 
The preventive, other than that mentioned, is spraying 
with the bordeaux as used in the orchard. 

The budding of the pear seedlings, cutting off of 
the stock and the forming of the head is the same as 
to time and method as for the apple, but it generally 
requires one year longer to grow a first-class pear tree 
than for the apple. 

Top'iuorliing — Some varieties produce a weak stock 
or trunk, and to make good, upright, clean trees, must 
be "top-worked. ^^ This consists in budding in summer, 
or splice or tongue grafting in spring, on some strong 
growing stock like Olapp or Flemish Beauty. In this 
way a stout trunk is obtained much earlier than can 
be produced on its own stock. Old trees of unprofitable 
varieties may be grafted over as described for the apple. 



194 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

PROPAGATION OF THE PEACH 

Peach trees for orchard planting are more easily 
grown than those of any other fruit. The soil best 
suited to the production of first-class trees is a medium 
deep loam, that will not be subject to drouth, and fully 
exposed to a good circulation of air. Much care must 
be exercised in the selection of the seed, that coming 
from vigorous, healthy trees being the best. Much of 
the seed used is sold as coming from Tennessee, North 
Carolina, etc., where it is claimed that the disease known 
as the "yellows" does not exist. It is undoubtedly true, 
that this disease is less prevalent in the above-mentioned 
sections, but it is thought that it may be found there, 
and as the "natural" fruit often is less vigorous than 
many of the budded sorts, it would seem best to use 
seed from the most hardy, healthy and vigorous varie- 
ties, whether budded or not. The seed should be obtained 
as early in the fall as is possible, and be "bedded," i. e., 
mixed with soil and exposed to the frost so that it will 
germinate more readily in the spring. 

Bedding the seeds consists in selecting a rather 
moist soil of sandy loam, where there will be no danger 
of standing water, and making a pit from six to ten 
inches deep, and of the size required for the amount 
of seed to be used. In the bottom of this bed a layer 
of seeds two or three deep is placed, then a layer of 
soil of the same depth, treading it firmly, then another 
layer of seeds, and so on until the bed is filled a little 
above the level of the surrounding soil. Here the seeds 
remain exposed to the action of moisture and frost until 
they begin to sprout in May, when they are thrown 
upon a wire screen, and the shells will separate from 
the kernel if the frosting has been a success. If any 
seeds fail to sprout they must be carefully cracked with 
a light hammer. As the kernels are separated from 



PROPAGATION OE TREES AND PLANTS 11)5 

the shells they should be kept covered with moist sand 
or soil until ready for planting. 

They are planted in rows from four to five feet 
apart and about two inches in the row, covering with 
fine soil from one to two inches deep, according to the 
character of the soil. Under proper conditions of cul- 
tivation and in good soil the seedlings should be from 
eighteen to twenty-four inches high by the last of 
August, when they are to be budded. If larger than 
this they are more difficult to bud, and will make a tree 
the following season too large for the best results in 
planting in the orchard. The peach is the most easily 
budded of any of the fruit trees, but care must be taken 
not to put in fruit buds. Buds should be taken from 
the best and most fruitful trees and not from the nursery 
rows, though the latter will be more certain to grow, 
and fewer blossom buds be obtained. 

The process of budding is the same as for the apple. 
As the peach seedlings grow very rapidly about the 
time of budding, a closer watch must be kept that the 
bands do not cut into the stocks so as to cause them 
to break off in the wind. The stocks are cut off, as seen 
in Figure 43, the following spring, and the buds start 
into rapid growth, requiring early attention that the 
inserted bud is not injured by other buds that start 
about it. The care required the first season is to see 
that only one leader grows, but all laterals are allowed 
to grow, and at the end of the first year's growth the 
tree is ready for planting in the orchard. Peach trees 
are graded according to size into No. 1 and Ko. 2, or 
according to hight, as five to seven feet, three and one- 
half to five feet, and three to four and one-half feet. 
The trees most planted are those of medium or second 
sizes, for the reason that these have more dormant buds 
on the main stem than the larger trees, and conse- 
quently more stocky heads can be formed from them. 



196 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE ' 

PROPAGATION OF THE PLUM 

Varieties of plums are propagated by budding on 
several kinds of stocks, the most in use being the French 
or Myrobalan, strong growing varieties of the native 
or American plum, and the peach stock. For the Euro- 
pean varieties the Myrobalan is most largely used, though 
the use of the American stock is increasing. The Jap- 
anese plums are grown on both the Myrobalan and 
the peach stock, the former doing the best when to be 
planted on heavy soil and the latter when to be set 
on rather light soil. The nursery treatment is prac- 
tically the same as in the growth of the apple, and the 
amateur finds no great difficulty in growing good trees. 
Some growers are using peach roots on which to graft 
the Japanese and some American varieties, the claim 
being that when worked in this way, and planted deeply, 
roots will soon grow from the cion and thus the trees are 
on their own roots in a short time. The Japanese plums 
grown on peach stocks are generally large enough for 
planting at one year from the bud. 

PROPAGATION^ OF THE APRICOT AND NECTARINE 

These two fruits are propagated in. the same man- 
ner as the peach, being budded on the peach stock. 

PROPAGATION OF THE CHERRY 

Like the plum, the varieties of the cherry are prop- 
agated on imported stocks. Two kinds are used, the 
Mahaleb and the Mazzard, the latter being most largely 
used and most valuable. The soil for the best results 
is a light, rather rich loam, kept well cultivated, by 
which means the seedlings are brought into good condi- 
tion for budding the last of August. If growing very 
rapidly at the time the buds are inserted, it is often 
the practice to head back the seedlings to check their 



PPtOPAGATION OF TREES AND PLANTS 



197 



growth, and thus cause a more perfect union of the 
bud with the stock. After the stock is cut off in the 
spring, the bud grows very rapidly, and the trees are 
often large enough for transplanting to the orchard 
at one year from the bud. 

PROPAGATION OF THE QUINCE 

The quince is propagated by cuttings, by layers, by 
stools and by root grafts, but as the two former methods 
are rather difficult, the last two are the ones most used. 

Boot Graft — For 
this purpose small . ^V^ 

pieces of apple roots are 
used; the trimmings of 
the seedlings are taken 
and cut into lengths of 
three or four inches, 
each one to be grafted 
on a cion six to eight 
inches long, of the de- 
sired variety, and are 
then planted in the 
same manner as the 
apple root grafts de- 
scribed on Page 186. The apple root supplies moisture 
and a little food material until roots are formed on the 
cion, when it fails to grow more, and we have the quince 
on its own root. 

Where only a few trees are desired they may be 
grown by what is called the "stool" method. This con- 
sists in first cutting a small, young tree down to within 
four or five inches of the ground, and allowing it to 
throw up new shoots that grow one season, as seen in 
Figure 104. At the beginning of the second season a 
mound of soil is made about this "stool" deep enough 
to keep the base of the shoots moist all of the time 




Fie. 104— Quince Stool 



198 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

during the summer, when in the fall roots will be found 
well developed. These shoots are then cut off and 
treated as rooted cuttings, which after one season in 
the nursery under good conditions should be large 
enough to plant in the orchard. 

PROPAGATION OF THE GRAPEVINE 

The grape is propagated by cuttings, by 
layers and by grafting, and is one of the most 
easily propagated of the fruits. 

Cuttings — Two kinds of cuttings are 
employed, the long cutting and the short 
cutting. The long cutting, under ordinary 
care, gives the best results, the short cuttings 
only being employed under glass. The long 
cuttings are made of canes of the last season's 
growth, of medium size, about eight to ten 
inches long, containing two or more buds to 
each cutting. (Figure 105.) The best time 
to make them is in the fall before the ground 
freezes, tying in bundles of twenty-five and 
carefully heeling-in in a sheltered place or in 
a cold-frame where they will not freeze, and 
Fig. 105— ^here they can be gotten at early in the 
Cutting spring for early planting. Cuttings are some- 
times planted in the fall, but if this is done 
a heavy mulch of stable manure should be put on the 
bed before the ground freezes to keep them from being 
heaved out by the frost. 

Layers — Perhaps the best method by which the 
amateur may increase his stock of vines is the ^^spring 
layer." (Figure 106.) This consists in taking canes of 
last season's growth and bending them down into a 
trench five or six inches deep in the spring before 
growth begins, and after the buds along the cane have 
made a few inches of growth, filling in the trench with 



PROPAGATION OF TREES AND PLANTS 199 

good soil, when during the summer roots will form at 
each node or bud, and in the fall we shall have as many 
rooted plants as there are shoots. If, after the cane 
has been bent down, only the buds at the end of the cane 
and those near the vine start, it may be bent up, when 
the buds at the highest point will grow. If any of 
these new canes grow faster than the others the ends 
should be pinched off so as to force the growth into the 
weaker ones. 




Pig. lOd—Layerlne the Grapevine 

Summer Layer — This consists in taking a cane 
of the present season's growth and bending it down 
into a trench in July, covering with five or six inches 
of soil as in the spring layer, but only two vines will 
be produced from each cane layered, i. e., that at the 
end of the cane and that part nearest to the vine. By 
these two methods anyone who has a vine or two in 
the garden may increase the number with much more 
certainty and with less labor than from cuttings. 



200 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



Grafting the Vine — Many of the varieties highly 
recommended by nurserymen prove of little value except 
under the most favorable conditions, and after planting 
it becomes necessary to destroy them or to change the 
variety. The latter can be done with a limited success 
only by grafting, though no one has been able to make 
more than a small per cent of grafts to grow, but when 
they do succeed the growth is so great that the graft 
bears fruit often the next year after grafting. The 
most successful method of grafting the vine is by cutting 




Fig. 107— Grafting the Grapevine 

off the stock two or three inches below the surface of 
the ground in the fall before the ground freezes, and 
making a common cleft graft. If the stock does not 
split well a fine saw may be used to split it. After the 
cion has been inserted the soil is packed firmly about 
the cleft, no wax being used, then a small flowerpot is 
inverted over it (Figure 107), so that the cion may 
not be disturbed when being uncovered in the spring. 
More soil {d d) is now banked around the flowerpot, 
and, as cold weather comes on, mulch enough is put 



PROPAGATION OF TREES AND PLANTS 201 

on to keep it from freezing deeply {g f). In the spring, 
after heavy frosts are over^ the covering is taken off, the 
soil packed firmly to the top of the cion, when, if the 
work is successful, growth will begin early and a large 
vine will result. This kind of a graft is also made by 
some in June after the leaves have unfolded, and the 
sap has become thickened, but the cions must be kept 
dormant in cold storage or deeply covered on the ice in 
an icehouse. If the stock used is very small the cion 
should be tied in with a strong string in order to obtain 
pressure enough to cause the cambium layers to unite. 

PROPAGATION OF THE CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY 

These two fruits are propagated in the same manner 
as the grape, i. e., by cuttings and layers. 

The Currant — Cuttings are best made as soon as 
the leaves begin to fade in August or September. They 
are made of the new wood, from six to eight inches 
long, and should be planted at once for the best growth. 
The soil should be a deep, moist, rich loam, and the 
planting and care is the same as for grape cuttings or 
root grafts, the top bud of the cutting being just covered 
with soil. Before the ground freezes the bed should be 
covered with several inches of strawy manure or other 
mulch to- prevent the heaving of cuttings by the alter- 
nating freezing and thawing during the winter and 
spring. If the work is successful a large growth may be 
expected the next season, and the bushes will be ready 
to plajit at one or two years from the time the cuttings 
were planted. Layers of the currant are made like 
those of the grape, but as cuttings root so easily under 
proper conditions, the layer is not much used. 

The gooseberry js not easily grown from cuttings 
unless the canes are first covered with soil for one 
season, but readily grown by what are called "stools," as 



202 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

described under the quince. After the shoots have been 
covered one season they are cut off and planted as 
cuttings, rooting readily, and at two years they are 
ready to plant in the field. 

PROPAGATION OF THE RASPBERRY AND BLACKBERRY 

These two fruits are increased in two ways, i. e., 
from suckers and from root cuttings. A sucker plant 
is one that naturally comes up from the roots of these 
plants, and is the cause of their spreading. If these 
sucker plants are taken up we find that they have but 
few fine roots, but if carefully taken up and transplanted 
at once make good plants, and are largely used in setting 
new plantations. The root cuttings are, however, much 
better, as they have an abundance of fine roots. Root 
cuttings are made by digging up the roots of the desired 
kind in the fall before the ground freezes, cutting them 
into pieces of from two to three inches in length, using 
everything from one-eighth of an inch up, and planting 
in rich, moist soil in beds or wide rows about as peas 
are planted, covering about two inches deep. Before 
the ground freezes deeply a covering of coarse stable 
manure should be put over the bed that the ground 
shall not freeze deeply. In the spring the covering 
is taken off as soon as severe freezing weather is over, 
the ground carefully cleared of weeds as the season 
advances, and by July the bed will be studded over 
with buds from the planted roots. The only care needed 
during the summer is to keep the weeds down, keep 
the surface of the soil mellow and to check, by pinching, 
any very strong growing plants that tend to injure their 
neighbors. At the end of the season the plants should 
average two feet in hight and have a large mass of roots. 
Such plants are far more valuable than the sucker plants, 
and sell at about double the price. • 



PKOPAGATION OF TKEES AND PLANTS 203 

The blacTccap raspberry is propagated by the ends 
or tips of the canes taking root. This takes place to 
a limited extent without assistance, but to obtain the 
largest number of plants the ends of the canes should 
be carefully covered with one or two inches of soil the 
last of August or early in September. The layer or 
"tip" plants (Figure 76) are better if not taken up 
until the following spring, but if carefully dug and 
handled, it may be done in the fall with a fair degree 
of success. The tips should not be planted in the field 
until spring. 

PROPAGATION OP THE STRAWBERRY 

The strawberry is not generally grown as a nursery 
product alone, but the plants for setting new fields are 
often taken from the fruiting plantations. To a lim- 
ited extent this practice is not seriously objectionable, 
but, as many kinds are often grawn in the fruiting 
fields more or less closely together, there are many 
chances of their getting mixed. The plants cannot be 
as well dug as from a bed where all are to be remaved, 
and therefore it is better to have all plants grown in 
beds where no fruit is expected. A* method practiced 
by some o-f the experiment stations and others, called 
"summer bedding," is found very satisfactory. This 
consists in heeling-in, or planting in close rows or beds, 
the runners that are thinned from the rows or the field 
during the summer, where they remain until the follow- 
ing spring, when they may be set in the field at any time 
from the first of April to June without being checked 
in transplanting. In this way runners that have made 
but very short roo-ts, if heeled-in and shaded for a day 
or two, will make strong rooted plants in a few weeks, 
and each plant will have full exposure to the air and 
sunlight, thus making very strong plants. 



204 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

In the foregoing pages of this chapter we have 
given a brief outline of the methods employed in propa- 
gating the fruits and the treatment they require in the 
nursery, which we hope will enable those who are about 
to go into fruit raising and with some practice to grow, 
under favorable conditions, good trees and plants for 
their own planting. 



XTX 



FRUIT GROWING UNDER GLASS 

While in this progressive age almost all of the 
fruits of the tropics and many local fruits are shipped 
to the North in a perfectly fresh condition from the 
South, yet to have native fruits out of season in the 



/ 




m^-----'!f^^ 



Fig. 108— Curvilinear Span=Roof House 

great perfection that they may be grown in skillfully 
managed fruit houses will always be considered a great 
luxury. For many years past fruit growing under glass 
has received much less attention than formerly on 
account of the improved facilities for transportation, 
and as a market product to compete with Southern or 
Pacific Coast products the fruit houses will hardly be 



206 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



able to hold their own except for its greater perfection. 
Large estates, with their numerous gardens and green- 
houses, may add a fruit house, a cold or hot grapery, 
or force strawberries in any cool house, at little expense, 
with a great deal of satisfaction. So, too, the owner 
of a city home with but a few rods of land may have, 
if he can. afford the expense, even choicer fruit than 




' --A^&f^ 



v-.^^ *^-syA 



:^\' 



/]^h. • • - • • 
Pie. 109— Straisrht Sash Bar Lean=to House 



can be grown by the farmer, and so control conditions 
as to have it through a much wider range of season. 
This expense, however, need not be great after the houses 
are built, and these may be simple and inexpensive 
structures built against the house or stable, or may be 
very elaborate and ornate, built by skillful greenhouse 
architects. 

As with fruits out of doors the grower must be 
familiar with the needs of each crop — and they need 
practically the same conditions under glass that they 



FRUIT GROWIKG UKDER GLASS 207 

do in the field— and be prompt and persistent in carry- 
ing out the details of the work in all of its stages. A 
little neglect or wrong treatment for even a short time 
will result in more serious injury than in the field. 
Too high or too low temperature for even a short time 
at critical moments may often destroy an entire season's 
growth^ and no one should undertake the care of fruit 
under glass unless they are so situated that attention 
can be given to the crop by someone at any moment 
of the day when conditions may require it. Among 
the fruits that may be successfully grown under glass 
are the peachy apricot, grape and strawberry. 

THE PEACH AND APRICOT 

For forcing these two fruits, very nearly the same 
conditions are required. The most approved house for 
this work is one with a span roof running north and 
south. Both the curvilinear (Figure 108) and the 
straight sash bar (Figure 109) are used, the former 
being more ornamental, while the latter will make a 
closer house. In the extreme Northern sections the 
lean-to has the advantage that it can be most easily 
heated, on account of the shelter wall on the north side. 
The foundation should be raised above the surrounding 
land to insure quick surface drainage and a dry atmos- 
phere. The trees are generally grown in borders, but 
where space is limited they may be grown in pots or 
tubs and stored during the winter or dormant stage in 
close quarters in the houses, in stable cellars or in pits. 

The Borders — The borders are generally made in- 
side, as seen in Figure 108, but may be partly outside 
as well, as shown in Figure 109, and should be made 
of fine, light, but moderately rich material. Decayed 
sods, leaf mold, coarse bones, mortar waste and perhaps 
some sand if the soil is heavy should be well mixed 
together for this purpose. The border should be thor- 



208 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



oughly underdrained with tile^ as shown in the illus- 
trations^ with a free outlet^ so that there shall be no 
possibility of water standing about the roots. Where the 
fruit is to be forced during the winter the inside border 
is probably the best^ but where growth does not begin 
until spring the outside border has some advantages, 
requiring less care as to watering, though in case of 
heavy rain storms may become too wet unless drainage 
is very perfect. The roots of the trees planted inside 
reach the outside border through 6x1 8-inch openings in 







Pig. 110— Wall with Openings for the Roots 

the wall, as seen at a. Figure 110, at intervals opposite 
where the trees are planted, the border being filled up 
nearly to the sills of the house. The soil should be 
worked over thoroughly several times, and be not less 
than two feet in depth. 

Planting — ^Young, vigorous one-year-old trees 
should be used, the roots being well cut back and the 
top trimmed to ten to twelve inches, or perhaps better, 
cut down to two or three buds. The advantage of the 
latter method is that one clean central shoot may be 
trained from a single bud near the ground more easily 
than from a stock one foot or more high, and the buds 



PKUIT GROWING UNDER GLASS 209 

generally start with greater vigor when from near the 
ground. The planting and first year's treatment under 
glass is practically the same as out of doors, except that 
the training should be directed so as to produce the 
desired form, pinching here and there as needed to 
produce the flat form {espalier), or the tree form, as 
desired. The aim should be to obtain the conditions 
that would give the best growth if planted outside. 

Watering — Water should be applied liberally 
whenever the border becomes dry, but too much water 
is much worse than too little. Syringe the foliage two 
or three times each week on bright sunny mornings. 
In extremely hot, moist weather, withhold water, and 
if the red spider appears — an indication of a too dry 
atmosphere — syringe more freely. Ventilate freely both 
night and day during the summer, but in very cold, 
wet weather, keep the ventilators partly closed. At 
blooming time withhold water and keep a dry, airy 
atmosphere. So, too, when the fruit is beginning to 
color, give more air and increase or reduce the tempera- 
ture as the ripening of the fruit is to be hastened 
or retarded. 

Cultivation and Fertilization — During the growing 
season the border should receive about the same atten- 
tion as is given borders outside. The surface should 
be frequently stirred, and no weeds allowed to grow. 
If the border becomes too wet it will dry out more 
quickly if allowed to stand without stirring. Should the 
growth of the trees be weak and sickly a little quick- 
acting fertilizer like nitrate of soda will often give 
them a start. 

Before growth begins each season a liberal dressing 
of well decomposed stable manure should be worked 
into the border. To this may be added to advantage, 
sometimes, a light dressing of air-slaked lime or wood 
ashes. 



210 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

Training the Tree — Two plans or methods of 
training commonly practiced are the tree form and the 
"fan" espalier form, the latter being most in use. Much 
skill may be exercised in this work, and many modified 
forms of these two methods produced to adjust the trees 
to surrounding conditions. Each season the new shoots 
are to be cut back more or less to insure a moderate 
number of blossoms and enough shoots to renew the 
fruit bearing wood for the next season. No surplus 
wood should be allowed to grow, the whole force of the 
tree to be directed to the production of the fruit and 
the renewal shoots. During the summer all shoots not 
needed to carry out the plan of training should be cut 
off as soon as they appear. 

Thinning the Fruit — To produce fruit of the best 
size, quality and color, but a limited quantity should 
be allowed to grow on a given space of wood. Eeducing 
the number of specimens to one-fourth or even more 
will often not reduce the measured quantity of fruit 
ripened, while the number of seeds or kernels being 
largely reduced, the strain on the tree is not as great, 
and it will often make a much larger growth, and be 
in better condition for next year's crop. N"o rule can 
be given as to the number of specimens to be left or 
the distance apart on the branches; each grower must 
"use his judgment,'' but it is best to err on the safe 
side by thinning liberally, if the future good of the 
trees is to be considered. On a well branched, vig- 
orous tree, four inches apart would give a large number 
of fruits, while if the tree is weak six inches would be 
a better distance. 

Varieties — Among those recommended by success- 
ful growers are the following: Peaches — Royal Gleorge, 
Golden Eagle, Goshawk. Nectarines — Cardinal, Lord 
Napier, Darwin, Victoria. 

Trees in Pots — When one has limited glass space 



FRUIT GROWING UNDER GLASS 211 

and a good cellar or pit in which to store them during 
the winter, trees of the peach, apricot and nectarine 
may be grown in pots with a good degree of satisfaction. 
Small one-year-old trees should be planted in six to 
eight-inch pots in rich soil in April or May, and be 
grown vigorously in the open air until October. For 
the best results they should be shifted once or twice 
into pots of larger size until, when well grown, they will 
be in twelve-inch size. They must have a constant 
supply of water and an abundance of plant food. To 
prevent too rapid evaporation of moisture from the 
soil in the pot, they should be plunged to their rim, 
or an inch or two lower if the soil is dry, in soil, 
sphagnum moss, or some other material that holds 
moisture well. They should be plunged where they 
will have a full exposure to sunlight and air. 

Under no circumstances must the soil become dry 
for any considerable time, and whenever water is ap- 
plied suifficient should be used to saturate the soil in 
the pots and that about it. If the roots are found to 
grow through the drain hole or over the top of the pot 
the ball of roots should be pulled from the pot and 
given a full turn, returning all roots to the inside of the 
pot, settling the soil firmly in place by tamping. As 
cold weather comes on less water should be used that 
the wood may become well ripened. Any mulch about 
the roots should be removed unless in times of severe 
drouth. Allow the trees to stand in full exposure until 
there is danger of bursting the pots by frost, when the 
pots may be protected or be taken up and placed in a 
frame where the pots can be protected. 

At any time from December to March, affer consid- 
erable exposure to frost has been given, the trees may 
be gradually exposed to a higher temperature in a light, 
airy house, starting at thirty-five degrees at night and 
forty to forty-five degrees during the daytime, and 



213 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



raising it about two to three degrees a week until well 
started into growth, when the treatment must be the 
same as for trees planted in the borders. 



GRAPES UNDER GLASS 



Of all the fruit crops under glass none gives the 
satisfaction that the grape does, and none is so easily 
grown. They may be grown in cheap houses with a 




Fig. 1 1 1— Cold Qrapery 

border outside and without any artificial heat, the fruit 
ripening a little earlier than the outdoor crop, or in 
houses with borders inside, and by the aid of artificial 
heat, the fruit may be ripened at any time from July to 
January. Many of the varieties grown under glass 
possess such long-keeping qualities that they may be 
had in perfect condition nearly the year around by a 



FRUIT GROWING UNDER GLASS 213 

little especial care, i. e., cutting a part of the cane with 
each bunch and inserting it in a bottle of water and 
hanging in a cool, dry cellar. 

Cold Grapery — x^.ny glass house comparatively 
close, with long sash bars, and space for a border outside 
or in, may be used with success for this work. The 
best form is perhaps a lean-to eighteen to twenty feet 
wide facing the south, with long rafters or sash bars and 
ventilators at the top and bottom. Strong one-year-old 
vines are planted in the border outside, with the cane 
growing through the openings in the wall, as seen in 
Figure 111. 

The Border — The border should be made about two 
feet deep, of about the same material used for making 
the fruit house border, i. e., partly rotted turf, leaf mold, 
sand, bones, old mortar, etc. It should be well under- 
drained and the whole texture, when completed, should 
be light, w^arm and rich. The first year it need be 
made only four to six feet wide, each year adding about 
two feet, until it is fourteen to sixteen feet wide. Fine 
ground bone and wood ashes make a good fertilizer if 
the soil is not too heavy. 

Training the Vine (first year) — At planting the 
vine is cut back so that one or two buds will come inside 
of the wall, as seen at a. Figure 111. Only one cane is 
allowed to grow, and this should make from six to eight 
feet, but the end be pinched off when it has reached 
five feet, that the buds and wood may fully mature. N"o 
laterals are allowed to grow. If from any cause one of 
the lateral buds should start into growth, one leaf is 
allowed to unfold, when the cane should be pinched off 
just beyond it, as shown in Figure 111. The removal 
of this leaf would cause the bud at its base to grow. 

Summer Care — During the summer little care need 
be given the border. If properly made it will take 
care of itself unless it should become flooded, which 



214: SUCCESSFUL EEUIT CULTURE 

good drainage will prevent. The inside treatment 
needed is an abundance of air and sunlight. As the 
time for growth begins keep the ventilators well open 
in all bright, warm weather, night or day, so that the 
vines will not start too early, but keep closed when very 
cold or wet. Sudden changes from high temperature 
to low and close hot weather tend to bring on mildew 
and rot, and must be avoided. During the summer the 
atmosphere should be kept on the dry side, syringing 
the foliage in the morning during bright weather once 
or twice each week and more frequently should "red 
spiders'' gain a foothold. When in bloom and again 
when the fruit is ripening, and until well ripened, use 
but little water, and expose to full air and sunlight 
to ripen the wood. 

Training the Vine (second year) — The first year's 
growth of five or six feet is generally cut back to two 
or three feet, as seen at h. Figure 111, and the second 
year be allowed to start a strong bud at the end. The 
lateral. Figure 111, will burst also, and a few bunches of 
fruit might be set, but this is not advisable until the 
second year. The ends of all laterals should be pinched 
off as soon as one leaf has been formed, as seen in same 
figure. Often several buds will start into growth from 
one node, all but the central one of which should 
be rubbed off entirely. As with the first year's growth, 
no laterals are allowed to grow more than one leaf at a 
time. At the end of the second year the leader will have 
made one clean cane from eight to fifteen feet long 
(Figure 111, a, h, c), with a few laterals on the growth 
of last year. (Figure 111, a, h.) 

Training the Vine (third year) — At the beginning 
of the third season's growth we should cut the new cane 
to about three feet, thus increasing the fruiting cane to 
about six feet in length. From each bud of this cane will 
be sent out shoots at every node, as seen in Figure 113, 



PEUIT GROWING UNDER GLASS 



215 



each of which will produce from one to three bunches of 
blossoms. As soon as these can be distinguished the cane 
should be pinched off to the last large cluster and one 
leaf; thus there will be, when set, one large cluster of 
fruit and one or more large leaves, besides the leaves of 
the main canes. During the summer, as soon as a new 
leaf has been formed beyond the last bunch, the end of 
the cane is pinched off , -■» 

and at the end of the 
season we will have short 
spurs upon which are 
large bunches of grapes. 
In pruning the laterals 
after fruiting, cut back 
so as to reduce the 
length of the spur for 
-the next year's cane as 
much as possible. Fig- 
ure 113 shows how much 
the spur would be elon- 
gated if the cut were 
made at the large bud, 
1), and how much shorter 
it would be if the- cut 
were to be made as 
shown at a. 

Each succeeding sea- 
son the work is a repeti- 
tion of that of the third year until the permanent vine 
reaches the ridge of the house. Each succeeding year, 
however, will be likely to be met with some new difficulty, 
the result of climatic or other changes, insect pests or 
fungous diseases, which must be met and overcome. If 
a vine becomes weak or seriously injured by cold the 
root often may be in a healthy condition, and the top 
may be renewed by starting a new cane from the ground. 




Pig. 112— Training the Vine the 
Third Year 



316 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

This is often practiced and the fruit from the young 
cane is much superior to that from the old, weak vine. 

Thinning the Fruit — Almost every variety of the 
European grapes that are grown under glass sets so 
many berries to the bunch and the stems are so short 
that, when fully grown, they are so crowded that many 
are forced from their stem or are cracked, and the whole 
bunch soon decays. To prevent this loss, when the ber- 
ries are about one-half grown, those on the inside with 
short stems are thinned out. Sometimes it is necessary 
to cut out more than three-quarters of the berries if 
the bunches set are very large and the vines growing 
very vigorously, but for an average growth one-third 
to one-half will be sufficient. Among the best varieties 
for the cold grapery are Foster's Seedling, Buckland 
Sweetwater and Black Hamburg. 

Hothouse Grapes — The construction of the house 
for forcing grapes is practically the same as for the 
cold grapery, except that the border is generally inside, 
and artificial heat is used. The treatment of the vines 
after starting into growth is also very similar, though 
more care must be exercised during cold weather to 
prevent a chill, which will often bring on mildew or 
rot. Among some of the leading varieties for forcing 
are Muscat of Alexandria and Gros Colman. 

FORCING THE STRAWBERRY 

With a good supply of this fruit shipped to the 
Northern cities from the South as early as the middle 
of January, and then sent in from the North after the 
local crop has been harvested as late as September, and 
the many autumn fruiting varieties, the forcing of the 
strawberry will probably never become a large industry. 
When managed skillfully, fruit of very fine quality may 
be put into the market early in January, and bring the 
highest prices, as it must to meet expense of growing. 



FRUIT GROWING UNDER GLASS 



217 



Success in this work depends largely upon strong, 
well rooted plants in large pots of rich soil, and a full 
resting state under similar conditions to those found 
in the field grown crop. Strong runners from vigorous 
plants are layered early in the summer in three-inch 
pots, as seen in Figure 113. As soon as they are well 
rooted they are shifted to five or six-inch pots and 
placed where they can have careful attention as to 
watering and plant food. They must be kept growing 
vigorously until the time for resting in the fall, and 




Fig. 113— Layering Strawberry Plants in Pots 

if the plant food in the pots becomes exhausted, as it 
often will when water has run through the soil freely, 
more plant food must be applied. For success an abun- 
dance of fine white roots and large, heavy leaves must 
be produced. 

As soon as freezing nights come on, the whole 
plant and surface soil of the pots should be exposed to 
the weather, water should also be withheld, but the soil 
never be -allowed to become quite dry. After having 
been thus exposed to freezing weather for a few weeks, 
forcing may begin, though the longer frozen the better 
they will force. The plants should be placed in a light. 




a 
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o 



CS 

s 

& 

k 
U 
V 

I 

CO 

tm 

o 
u 

a 



Of 



FRUIT GROWING UNDER GLASS 219 

airy house, with a temperature beginning at thirty-three 
to thirty-five degrees at night and forty to forty-five 
degrees during the day, gradually raising it two to three 
degrees each week until forty to forty-five degrees at 
night and fift}^ to sixty degrees during the day is reached. 
As much air must be kept on the house as possible, and 
an abundance of water be given. 

Liquid manure may be used every week after 
blooming if the plants are not growing rapidly. When 
the plants are showing bud they should be placed as 
near the glass as possible, but the pots be shaded 
by the foliage by placing close together, or by some 
packing like sphagnum moss about them. When the 
flowers begin to open the atmosphere should be kept 
as dry as possible. Fertilization of the flowers should 
be done by hand with the camel's hair brush or by 
having bees in the house. To keep the fruit from get- 
ting into the dirt and decaying, pieces of wire netting 
up a ^dgorous growth, and maintain as nearly as possible 
can be placed on top of the pots, as seen in Figure 114. 

The aim in all stages of growth should be to supply 
the best soil and an abundance of plant food; to keep 
the temperature, moisture and air of an ideal season 
for strawberry growing outside. The best varieties for 
forcing are probably those that succeed best in field 
culture, and yet few can hope to supply the exact condi- 
tions under which they succeed in the field. I would 
suggest the Clyde, Brandywine, Sample and Senator 
Dunlap as among the best. 



XX 
INSECT PESTS 

There is nothing connected with the subject of 
fruit growing that is of more importance than a knowl- 
edge of the habits of the insect and fungous pests that 
we have to contend with and how to prevent their 
injury. It is a comparatively easy matter to make the 
trees grow, and perhaps to set a large crop of fruit, but 
if this fruit is injured by insects or fungous pests, it 
will not be salable at paying prices. With the increase 
of the number of trees or fruit plants in any given 
locality comes an increase in the number of these pests, 
and the successful fruit grower must equip himself with 
spraying outfits and make use of insecticides and fungi- 
cides if he will insure the quantity and quality of his 
fruit crop. 

No attempt will be made to describe the various 
pests with scientific accuracy, but to show them as they 
will be seen by the practical fruit grower. 

PREVENTIVES 

The first consideration in growing good fruit is 
to so grow the trees or plants that they will be the 
least liable to the attack of insects or fungi. The con- 
dition of the tree will have a great influence on the 
amount of injury that will be done by these pests. The 
more vigorous the growth, the less will be the injur)'' 
from fungous diseases, and, to a greater or less degree, 
that from insects also, as most of the fungi and many 
of the insects only attack the weak plants. An abun- 



INSECT PESTS 221 

dance of plant food and good care and cultivation must 
therefore be the first point to be attended to, but cannot 
be wholly depended upon, for, when the season is right 
for the rapid increase of insects or fungi, trees under 
all conditions will be sure to be more or less injured 
unless the work of spraying is promptly and thoroughly 
done. Insecticides should be applied when the first 
insects appear, and fungicides before the spores come in 
contact with the host plant. If the first insect is de- 
stroyed there will be no further trouble, and if the first 
spore or seed of the fungus is destroyed, or, coming 
into contact with the copper sulphate, fails to germinate, 
there can be no further growth of that pest. Therefore 
we should adopt the rule that ^^prevention is better than 
cure/' and it is certainly cheaper. 

INSECTICIDES ( INSECT KILLEES) 

The substances used to destroy insects on our plants 
may be divided into two groups: Those that kill by 
contact, and those that kill by being taken into the 
stomachs of the insects, i. e., those killing "sucking" 
insects and those killing "chewing^^ insects. 

1. Of the first, the most in use are Paris green, 
London purple, arsenate of lead, hellebone, arsenate of 
lime, arsenate of soda, white arsenic, etc. 

2. Of the second group most in use, we may men- 
tion whale-oil soap, linseed oil, kerosene, crude petrol- 
eum and pyrethrum or Persian insect powder. 

Promptness and thoroughness in the application 
of insecticides should be the watchword. The best 
pumps for the work in hand should be used, the prepara- 
tion of the insecticides and fungicides should be most 
carefully done, and in mixing and applying the greatest 
economy of labor be practiced. In fact, in all the work 
attending the growing and caring for any crop of fruit, 
thorough ivork and husiness dispatch must be the rule 



222 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

if any profit is to be expected. In all this work of fruit 
growing the margin of profit is very small^ and the 
strictest economy must be practiced even under the most 
favorable conditions. 

PUMPS 

Much of the success in the protection of our fruit 
crops depends upon the pump used, but there are so 
many good pumps now upon the market that no one 
need use a poor one. The main points to be consid- 
ered are: 

1. That the pump be large enough to throw the 
liquid with so much force that it shall break into a 
very fine spray and yet strike the plants with force 
enough to have it cover the surface of all the parts of 
the plant sprayed. 

2. All the parts that come in contact with the 
liquids must be of brass or copper if copper solutions 
are to be used, as iron would soon be eaten out by 
the copper. 

3. An effective agitating apparatus should be 
provided, or very unequal results will be obtained, and 
if Paris green and other insecticides are used, much 
injury may be done. 

4. Grood rubber hose should be supplied of suffi- 
cient lengths to be easily and quickly moved around 
the trees or plants being sprayed. It will be found that 
the best quality of hose will generally be the cheapest 
in the end, and that of half -inch diameter will last 
longer than larger sizes where it is to be moved and 
pulled about very much, as it does not kink up as much. 

Co-operation in spraying, where orchards and fruit 
plantations are small, will be found of great economy, 
as has been the case in many sections where this has 
been done, as well as in co-operation in the selling of 
the crops, etc. The cost of appliances for spraying on 



INSECT PESTS 223 

a small place is often more than the profits will warrant, 
and one outfit often would be sufficient to do the spray- 
ing for a large community or even a township, and at 
a great saving in time and money. Most of the spraying 
pumps and machines are rather delicately made, and 
must have good care, as with all other farm and garden 
implements, and one must be something of a mechanic 
to keep them in good working order. After using the 
pump with mixtures like the bordeaux, unless it is to be 
used very soon again, clean water should be run through 
it until both the pump and the hose are well rinsed 
out, and it is well to hang the hose up so that the 
water will drain out of it after using. 

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE 

Round-TIeaded Apple Tree Borer {Saperda Candida) 
(Figure 115) — This is one of the most destructive 
insects to the apple tree, and one of the most widely 
distributed. The perfect insect (Figure 115, c) is a 
beetle about three-fourths of an inch long, with three 
light brown and two creamy white stripes upon its wing 
covers. It flies at night, laying its eggs upon the trunk 
in crevices of the bark, not far from the ground, in 
July and early August. The eggs soon hatch and the 
young larvae (Figure 115, a) penetrate the bark, feed- 
ing upon the bark for a time, often not reaching deeper 
than the sapwood until the following spring. The 
pupa or chrysalis is shown in Figure 115, h. 

During the second season it works in the sapwood, 
and at the end of the second season may be found in 
a burrow or hole that often runs upward for several 
inches. After the second season it often makes a turn 
outward toward the bark, where it undergoes its changes, 
and the following spring comes out a perfect insect to go 
through its round of life again. In young trees it often 
starts on one side of the tree, works into it, then goes 



224 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



upward and comes out on the other side. When the 
insect comes out of the tree it leaves a clean hole, and 
when one of these holes is found nothing need be done 
other than to prevent the deca}^ of the injured parts by 
filling the hole with putty or forcing in linseed oil. Its 
presence may be known by the chips or droppings that 
are found forced out of its hole^, or by the discoloration 
of the bark under the injured parts. 

Remedy — The best and cheapest way to overcome 
the injury of this pest is to examine the tree twice 
each year, in August to find the very young larvae, and 





Fig. 1 1 5— The Round=Headed Apple Tree Borer 



again in the following June to destroy those that may 
have escaped in the August examination, digging out 
the larvae with a pointed knife or killing with a wire. 
In doing this work, first pare off the outer bark until 
the opening where the larva entered is found, then 
follow the channel until the larvae are reached, or until 
the upward burrow is found, and insert the wire. If 
the larvae are very young they will be destroyed in the 
operation of paring off the outer bark, but if deep in 
the tree considerable effort will be sometimes needed 
to reach them. 

The Flat-Headed Apple Tree Borer (Chrysohothris 
femorata) (Figure 116) — This beetle is smaller than the 



INSECT PESTS 



225 



last, of a steel gray color, and moves about in the day- 
time. It lays its eggs not only on the trunk, but some- 
times on the main branches as well. It is generally 
found on the south side, and begins its work where 
there has been some injury to the bark. The larvae of 
the flat-headed borer work only in the bark and sap- 
wood, and are more easily destroyed than the round- 
headed borer. The insect generally completes its 
changes in one year, and in many places it is more 
abundant than the round-headed borer, and is more 
destructive. Figure 116, d, shows 
the perfect beetle ; h, the chrysalis ; 
a, the larva, with the head en- 
larged at c. 

Remedy — The presence of this 
larva may be known in the same 
way as that of the round-headed 
borer, and the remedy is the 
game. The use of washes on the 
trunk or branches is of uncertain, 
if of any, value, while examina- 
tion, if thoroughly made, is sure 
to reveal the insects if present, 
and there is no uncertainty about it, while the cost 
is less. 

The Oyster Shell Baric Louse {Mytila-spis pomorum) 
^This insect, shown in large numbers in Figure 
117, injures the apple tree by sucking the juices from 
the twigs and branches. While young the minute insects 
move about freely, but soon, finding a desirable place, 
fix themselves and feed there until they die. During 
the winter and spring we only find the dead shell and 
numerous eggs securely covered by it. In this state the 
shell or covering is so securely sealed that it is with 
difficulty removed from the bark, and can be destroyed 
only by very strong insecticides. Figure 117, a, shows 




Fig. 116— Flat=Headed 
Apple Tree Borer 



22Q 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



the under side of a mature insect with the numerous 
eggs; bj same from above; c, twig infested by female 
scales; d^ male scale^, and e^ twig infested therewith. It 
generally attacks weak trees and often destroys them. 

Remedy — It may be destroyed while the trees are 
dormant by brushing over with linseed oil^ by the use 




Fig. 117— Oyster Shell Bark Louse 



of fifteen to twenty per cent mechanical solution of kero- 
sene oil, or by a strong solution of whale-oil soap;, 
two pounds to one gallon of water; or, after the 
leaves have unfolded, with a ten per cent solution of 
kerosene when the young are moving about, which is 
generally during the early part of June. As when used 



INSECT PESTS 



227 



for the woolly aphis, the kerosene should be applied with 
a nozzle that gives a fine spray, and only on bright days. 
The Tent Caterpillar {Clisiocampa Americana) 
(Figure 118) — This pest is so familiar to almost every- 
one in its larval state as to need no description. The 



^^1^ 



:f«B 




Fig. 118— The Tent Caterpillar 

a b, nest and laryae: c, eggs; d, cocoon 



various stages of its growth are shown above, including 
eggs, nest and cocoon. Its eggs are laid during the 
latter part of the summer in clusters of 200 to 300 
around small twigs at the ends of the branches, often 
on those of the wild cherry, peach and some other 
trees. Here they remain until the following spring, 



228 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



until the leaves have started, when they hatch out, the 
larvae feeding rapidly upon the young foliage and form- 
ing a conspicuous web in the forks of the branches. 

Remedy — The larvae may be found in their nests 
early in the morning, during wet weather, and in the 
middle of very hot sunny days, when they may be 
readily removed by drawing the web around them, 

placing the mass 
on the ground and 
crushing with the 
foot. The best time 
to do this is as 
soon as they hatch 
out, and while the 
web is small, when 
with a glove on the 
hand a whole col- 
ony may be crushed 
with the fingers. 
During the winter, 
when pruning, by 
looking upward 
with the twigs 
against the sky, 
many of the clusters 
of eggs can be seen and removed, and all chance of 
injury from them be avoided. 

San Jose Scale (Aspidiotus perniciosus) (Figure 
119) — This dangerous insect, recently introduced from 
Japan or other foreign countries, has become a most 
destructive and troublesome pest that attacks the apple 
and other fruit trees as well as many forest trees. It 
has become widely disseminated throughout the coun- 
try, and from its wonderful powers of reproduction, 
unless checked promptly by parasites, or destroyed by 
other means, it may seriously injure the fruit growing 




Piff. 119— The San Jose Scale 



INSECT PESTS 229 

interests of the country. The perfect insect is a minute 
circular scale varying from one-thirty-second to one- 
sixteenth of an inch in diameter, which, unlike the 
oyster shell scale, brings forth its young alive, and pro- 
duces many broods each season, increasing so rapidly 
that in a single season entire trees may be destroyed. 

There are several other scales that resemble this 
pest so closely that it requires an expert to determine 
the species, but the others do not increase so rapidly, 
and when trees are thickly covered with small scale 
insects of a circular form, it may be safely concluded 
that it is the San Jose pest. Most of the experiment 
stations of the country have been at work to discover 
a sure remedy for this pest, and many report satisfactory 
results, but orchardists generally have not applied the 
suggested remedies long enough to prove whether they 
will be able to control the pest without the aid of the 
State or government. In all such matters it is always 
better that the grower protect his own crops than be 
employed by the State to do the work, but it may be 
wise for the State to aid in the work, either by furnish- 
ing trained men to advise and assist, or to provide some 
compensation Avhere the grower has suffered serious loss 
through no fault of his own. The salt, lime and sulphur 
mixture has proved the most effectual remedy, and in its 
modified simpler forms now used can be applied by the 
orchardist at no very great expense. The use of hydro- 
cyanic gas for fumigating trees infested has reached a 
considerable extent in some States, and is reported as 
effective, but the gas is such a deadly one that if any 
other substance will be equally effectual this should not 
be used. 

Remedy — Among the remedies which it is claimed 
will destroy or control this pest are kerosene oil, linseed 
oil, whale-oil soap, the lime, salt and sulphur mixture, 
and hydrocyanic gas. The application of these insecti- 



230 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



cides and their effectiveness may be a matter of some 
uncertainty. 

TJie Canker Worm (Anisopteryx vernata and A. 
pometaria) (Figure 120, a, male; 6^ female; e, eggs; f, 
larva; g, pupa) — In many sections of the country this 
insect is one of the most destructive of those attack- 
ing the apple tree, yet, knowing its habits, if prompt 
application be made of well known remedies it 
may be easily and cheaply prevented from doing much 
harm. Two species (as above) of this genus are found 
here, both of nearly the same form and of the same 

habits. The female, 
which has no wings, 
comes out during 
warm nights after 
the ground has been 
frozen in the fall or 
early in the spring, 
from October to May, 
and lays its eggs in 
clusters on the trunk 
and b r anches. As 
soon as the leaves 
come out the eggs 
begin to hatch and the larvae feed upon the foliage 
until the trees appear as if fire had run through them. 
The larvae spend several weeks, eating all but the mid- 
ribs of the leaves, and when numerous do serious harm. 
When fully grown they are about three-quarters of an 
inch long and drop from the tree suspended by a web, 
going into the ground to undergo their changes. When 
the defoliation of the trees continues for several years 
the orchards become worthless. 

Remedy — Taking advantage of the habit of the 
female insect, which nmst crawl up the tree to deposit 
its eggs, a band of gas tar or printer's ink is put around 




Fig. 120— The Canker Worm 



INSECT PESTS 231 

the trunks of the trees after October 1, and mnst be 
kept fresh and soft whenever the nights are warm, up 
to May 1. If the ground is frozen all winter the bands 
need have no care until spring, when the frost is 
out and the nights are warm, when they will be 
crawling, and the tar or ink must be soft at these 
times so as to catch them. If the trees are young it 
is best to put a band of paper about the trunk, upon 
which to apply the tar, to prevent injury to the 
bark, but on old trees which have a thick bark no 
harm will be done. If the band is used care must 
be taken that there are no openings under it that 
the insects can crawl under, for it takes but a few 
individuals to lay eggs enough to destroy much of the 
foliage on a tree of good size. Another effectual remedy 
is to encircle the tree with a tin or zinc trough, in which 
is placed some cheap non-drying oil. The chief objec- 
tion to this method is the cost of the troughs and the 
care required to keep them filled with oil and to keep 
them from being filled with the insects as they crawl 
into the oil. The remedy which is now most in use is 
to leave the trees until the larvae begin to hatch, and 
then spray with Paris green in water, quarter of a, pound 
to fifty gallons, or with the bordeaux mixture, half a 
pound to fifty gallons. The first application should be 
made just before the flowers open and the second when 
the petals have fallen. This remedy has the advantage 
that constant attention need not be given during the 
winter, that this and many other insects are killed at one 
or two sprayings, and the bordeaux will prevent the apple 
scab fungus from injuring the foliage. Thus two objects 
are gained by one spraying. 

The Apple Aphis or Plant Louse (Aphis mali) — 
The aphides, of which this is only one of a great number 
of species, are green, brown or black insects very small 
in size, that suck the juices of the tender shoots and 



232 . SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

leaves, doing an immense amount of damage, and there 
are few plants that do not have a specific kind that 
feeds upon them. The apple aphis is green in color and 
often feeds all summer, but generally only during the 
early part of the season. Figure 121 shows two forms 
enlarged and one winged form of natural size. 

Remedy — This insect is destroyed by the use of 
whale-oil soap, by tobacco water and by kerosene applied 
as for scale insects. If the leaves are much curled 
it is best to pick off those most curled before spraying 
is done, or the ends of the shoots are sometimes 

removed and burned or 
dropped into kerosene. 
The Oodlin Moth 
(C ar p capsa pomo- 
nella) — F igure 122 
illustrates a part, of an 
apple injured by this 
insect, a shows the 
Fig. 121— The Apple Aphis burrow ; &, the point at 

which the worm entered ; e, full grown worm ; d, pupa ; 
f, moth with folded wings; g, moth with expanded 
wings; h, head enlarged; i, cocoon which encloses the 
pupa. This is perhaps the most destructive insect 
attacking this fruit. It flies at night and lays its eggs 
on the leaves or surfaces of the apple. The larva then 
moves about until it finds the calyx of the apple, when 
it enters and feeds until full grown, coming out at some 
other place and dropping by a web to the ground, or 
crawls to some shelter, as the crevice in the bark or 
other dry place, where it spins its cocoon. Generally 
but one brood is produced in a season, but under 
favorable conditions, the larvae that come out in June 
or July may complete their changes and lay another 
brood of eggs in August or September that will hatch 
and injure the fruit late in the season. This brood 




INSECT PESTS 



233 



enters the apple from other points than the blossom 
end — generally where a leaf lies close to the apple or 
where two apples touch. 

Remedy — The application of Paris green with the 
bordeaux mixture as directed for the canker worm, 
has been found to destroy more than seventy per cent 
of the larvae of the first brood, but as this mixture 
would disfigure the fruit, if applied for the second 
brood, other remedies must be employed for the late 
brood. Pasturing 
the orchard with 
sheep, swine or 
cattle is practiced 
by many orchard- 
ists for the pur- 
pose of keeping 
this insect and the 
apple maggot in 
check, with good 
results. If sheep 
or cattle are kept 
in the orchard it 
will be necessary 
to train the trees 
with a trunk five 
or more feet high, 

to prevent injury to the lower branches. Swine some- 
times will injure the trees by eating the bark or 
by^ rooting and destroying the feeding roots. In the 
former case the protection of the trunk ' by wire 
netting or stakes driven down and wired to the trunk, 
and an abundance of food, will generally prevent them 
from rooting very deeply, but if this- is not effectual 
"ringing" their noses will be. A large number of fowls 
will also be sure to destroy most of the insects that go 
into the ground to undergo their transformations, as 




^^^SZ^, 



Fig. 122— The Codlin Moth 



2.34 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



the codlin moth, canker worm and apple maggot. The 
cocoons may be also trapped by bands of cloth or straw 
put around the trunks, and examined occasionally 
during the summer, and the cocoons destroyed. 

The Apple Maggot {Trypeta pomonella) (Figure 
123) — This is one of the most destructive of the insect 
pests that attack the apple. The perfect insect is a 
small fly, about one-half the size of the common house 
fly, that appears in the latter part of the summer and 
early fall, laying its eggs under the skin, through a 
minute puncture which it makes. It attacks sweet and 
mild flavored varieties more than very acid or winter 
fruit, though some winter sorts are seriously injured by 

the maggots. Most of the 
injury is done as the fruit 
is approaching maturity, or 
after it has fallen to the 
ground. 

Remedy — No means 
has been found by which the 



aogazw 




Fig. 123— The Apple Maggot 



insect can be caught or 



destroyed before the Qgg is 
laid, and therefore the only way it can be prevented 
from doing harm is to gather the fruit before the eggs 
are laid or to destroy the poor fruit while the larva is 
still in the fruit. This is done practically and eco- 
nomically by pasturing the orchards with swine and 
poultry where the trees are low headed, and with cattle 
and sheep if the head is high. If the fruit is picked 
as soon as matured and put into closed buildings or 
sold at once, few insects will be matured, but to have 
this method a success all the growers in a locality must 
do the same. Summer and fall apples must not be 
allowed to decay on the ground, as it furnishes the 
best possible place for their breeding. Fresh dropped 
apples are worth from three to eight cents per bushel 



INSECT PESTS 



235 



as food for stock, and this will pay the cost of picking 
up all fallen fruit once or twice each week. 

The Woolly Aphis or Louse {Schizoncura lanigera) 
(Figure 124, a, rootlet showing galls; h, wingless aphis; 
c, winged aphis; d-g, structural details; &-^^ magnified) 
— Although this is commonly known as the root louse 
and generally found on the roots of the apple tree, 
it often causes much injury to the trunk and main 
branches. It is a small insect, about one-sixteenth to 




Fig. 124— The Woolly Aphis 

one-eighth of an inch long, and more or less covered 
with a cottony, nearly white, substance, whence comes 
its name. It attacks the trunk and the branches in 
patches, sucking the juices and causing black, canker- 
like places which may spread, often destroying the 
limb. It most commonly attacks parts that have been 
previously injured in some way, as in climbing about 
to pick the fruit, in pruning, or an injury by the black 
rot fungus increasing its injuries. The roots of young 
trees are often seriously injured by this pest, baffling 
all efforts of the grower to make them grow, and the 
cause of this condition not being known until the tree 
is dug up. 



236 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

Remedy — When the injury is upon the branches, 
the application of soft soap or strong whale-oil soap 
solution with a stiff brush will be effectual, or kerosene 
if applied in a fine spray so that it will not stand in 
drops on the foliage will be equally good. A bright 
airy day should be selected that the kerosene may be 
applied liberally and yet evaporate quickly if the trees 
are in leaf. When the leaves are off it can be much 
more freely used, and therefore the first or preventive 
measures should be tried. Its presence on the roots of 
young trees can only be determined by digging up one 
or two trees. 

Plum Curculio {Conotrachelus nenuphar) — This 
pest, which is perhaps more destructive to the stone 
fruits than to the apple, is seriously injurious to the 
latter. It attacks the fruit in its young stage, making 
the crescent shaped mark shown in Figure 126, in 
which it lays its egg. These eggs do not mature in 
the apple, but the fruit is disfigured and at the 
punctured place often fails to grow, thus producing 
gnarly and irregular fruit. 

,. Remedy — See under the plum. 

INSECTS ATTACKING THE PEAR 

The Round-TIeaded Borer, Flat-Headed Borer, San 
Jose Scale, Oyster Shell Bark Louse and Codlin Moth, 
described as attacking the apple, are also injurious to the 
pear, but the canker worm and apple maggot do not 
attack it. Remedies for the above insects have already 
been described. 

Pear Tree Psylla (Psylla pyricola) (Figure 125) — 
A minute, flat, yellow, aphis-like, jumping insect that 
injures the trees by sucking the juice from the leaves 
and young branches. Wherever the punctures are 
made the juice exudes and a pool is formed in which 



INSECT PESTS ^3*^ 

the insect works. The first indication of their pres- 
ence may be numerous bees, wasps or hornets about the 
trees in search of the sweet liquid thus produced. 
Soon the trees have a dirty appearance due to the dust 
of the atmosphere collecting in the sticky exudations 
and to a dark colored fungus that grows in it. Orchards 
have been practically ruined by this pest in two or 
three years where no effort has been made to control it. 
Remedy— S^TSLjing in the spring before the buds 
have opened with a twenty-five per cent solution of 
kerosene, which will destroy most 
of the hibernating insects or eggs, if 
there are any, and, when the young 
begin to appear in June, spraying 
with a ten or fifteen per cent of the 
same, from one to three times, as 
may be needed. The trees should 
be examined in the warm days of 
spring and if this pest is found, 
spraying should be done as above, _ ^ 

and from the first of June very p,g. 125-Pear Psyiia 
frequent examinations should be 
made that the remedy may be applied as soon as the 
first insects appear. 

Pear Leaf Blister {Phytoptus pyri)— This mite 
causes injury by its puncture of the young leaves and 
new growing shoots, entering the tissue and causing 
blister-like swellings of a reddish color in the early 
summer. The mite is entirely hidden from view in the 
tissues of the injured parts, where it cannot be reached 
by any insecticide. The matured insect hibernates 
under the bud scales or bark of the tree, laying its eggs 
in the warm days of spring. 

Remedy—S^TSijmg with kerosene, twenty-five per 
cent, in water, before the leaves unfold, is sure to destroy 
most of the hibernating insects, and perhaps some of 




238 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

the eggs. Also as the leaves turn down the mites may 
be seen on the outside, where many of them may be 
killed by a ten per cent kerosene mechanical emulsion. 

INSECTS ATTACKING THE PEACH 

Peach Borer (Sannina exitiosa) — In some years 
this insect is very destructive, while in others it can 
scarcely be found. When abundant it is a serious pest, 
one larva being able to girdle a tree three inches in 
circumference. The perfect insect la3^s its eggs on the 
trunk near the ground in May or June according to the 
locality, and the larva works its way into the inner bark 
and sapwood, feeding over a space amounting to an inch 
or more in- diameter. If it works in a direct line it 
will nearly girdle a small tree. Its presence may be 
known by the gum containing its chips or droppings 
that exudes where the injury is made. Sometimes 
several larvae may be found in a single tree. The larvae 
feed through the summer and in the fall make a cocoon 
of soil, chips and gum near where they had fed and 
come out perfect insects the following season. 

Remedy — A great many washes have been sug- 
gested to prevent the entrance of the larvae or to kill 
them as soon as they hatch out, but none of these have 
been found effectual. The only remedy that can be 
relied upon, and it is the cheapest in the end, is to 
examine the trees twice each year, in June and in 
August, and dig the borers out. It is but the work of 
a moment to draw the soil away from the trunk of the 
tree for three or four inches and if there is any gum 
exuding and this gum contains the chips of the borers 
the injured parts should be followed until the larva is 
found and destroyed. If no gum exists or if there are 
no chips in the gum the soil may be drawn back, as 
there is no insect there. After a borer has been dug 



IN'SECT PESTS 



339 



out, the soil should be put back to protect the collar 
of the tree from the weather. 

Peoxh Aphis (Myzus Persicae) — The aphis or green 
louse, similar to that attacking the apple, is also 
troublesome in some seasons, but in others it does little 
or no harm. When the trees are attacked the leaves 
curl up and the lice are to be found inside of these 
curled leaves. 

Remedy — Spraying with twenty per cent of kero- 
sene before the buds start in the spring will destroy most 
of the hibernating insects or their eggs, and if ten per 
cent is used a few times 
in May and June before 
they become abundant, 
they may be kept from 
doing much harm. It is 
the practice of some of 
the most careful peach 
growers to spray as above 
before the leaves open 
and then as soon as the 
insects begin to appear 
make a thorough exam- 
ination and pick off the first leaves infested, mark the 
tree on which it is found, and then spray with whale- 
oil soap, one pound to four gallons of water. In this 
way the insects never get very numerous, the leaves do 
not curl and the few remaining aphides are easily 
destroyed. 

Plum CurcMlio — See under the plum. 

IN'SECTS ATTACKING THE PLUM 

Plum Curculio (Cono track elus nenuphar) — A 
small brown beetle with projecting mouth parts or 
proboscis as shown in Figure 126, appears in the early 
summer wdien the plums are from one-eighth to oiie- 




Fig. 126— The Plum Curculio 



240 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

fourth of an inch in diameter and makes crescent 
shaped cuts on the fruit, h^ in each of which it lays an 
egg. The eggs hatch and the larvae, a, feed on the 
fruit until it is destroyed, as at d, most of the fruit 
falling off soon after being stung, though some will hang 
on the tree until it colors and then falls. This insect is 
especially , destructive to the European and Japanese 
plums. It often badly disfigures the American varieties 
but the larvae do not generally mature in the fruit of 
this group. 

Remedy — The beetle is sensitive to a sudden jar, 
loses its hold and falls, and this habit is taken advantage 
of to capture it by spreading a blanket or screen under 

the tree before jar- 
ring. A curculio 
catcher is found in 
the market in the 
form of an inverted 
umbrella mounted 
on a wheelbarrow- 
like frame, as shown 
in Figure 127. This is wheeled under the tree, the 
branches are jarred by a padded stick or mallet, and 
the insects caught in a tin can in the center of the 
screen. This is a sure remedy if begun early in the 
season and followed up every day for two or three 
weeks, but is rather expensive. The remedy found the 
cheapest by the writer is Paris green used with the 
bordeaux as per the spraying calendar of the station for 
the European varieties, but using the arsenate of lead 
with the bordeaux upon the Japan and American sorts. 
Plum, Aphis (Aphis prunifolia) — This insect is 
similar to the species that attack the pear and apple and 
is controlled in the. same way. 

San Jose Scale — See under the apple. 
Peach Borer — See under the peach. 




Fig. 127— The Johnson Curculio Catcher 



INSECT PESTS 



241 



INSECTS ATTACKING THE QUINCE 

Round-Headed Apple Tree Borer — See under the 
apple. 

Flat-Headed Apple Tree Borer— See under the 
apple. 

Codlin Moth — See under the apple. 

INSECTS ATTACKING THE CHERRY 

Cherry Aphis (Myzus cerasi) — This is the insect 
that causes the cherry leaves to curl up in the early 
summer. It is dark brown or black in color and 
increases so rapidly that it seems but a day from their 
first appearance until they cover many leaves and cause 
• them to curl and finally to turn brown and drop off. 

Remedy — -If taken in 
time they may be destroyed 
by the use of kerosene as 
for the apple or peach aphis, 
but when the leaves have 
begun to curl it is almost 
impossible to reach them 
with any spray and the 
curled leaves should be 
picked off and the insects 
crushed or put into kerosene, before spraying begins. 

Rose Bug, Rose Chafer (Macrodactylus subspin- 
osus) (Figure 128) — See imder the grape. 

Plum Curc'ulio — See under the plum. Paris green 
cannot be used on the cherry. Arsenate of lead is the 
best insecticide for the cherry, Japanese plum and peach. 

INSECTS ATTACKING THE GRAPE 

Rose Bug, Rose Chafer (Macrodactylus subs pin- 
osus) (Figure 128, a, larva; h, pupa; c, beetle)— This 
beetle, well known to almost everyone because of its 




Fig. 128— The Rose Bug 



242 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

attack of the rose and many other garden plants in 
June, is seldom seriously injurious to vines in the 
large vineyards, but often destroys all of the fruit on 
vines in the garden. 

Remedy — For the garden, hand picking is about 
the only means of saving the fruit unless the vines are 
covered with gauze or mosquito netting. If a pan with 
a little water and kerosene be held under the vine where 
the insects are feeding, and they are just touched, they 
fall from the vine and will be destroyed. In the vine- 
yard, the spraying with the bordeaux and Paris green 
as used for other insects and fungous pests, will prevent 
the injury that sometimes would otherwise occur in a 
few vines on the edges of the vineyard. 

Berry Moth (Eudemis hotrana) — Some seasons a 
considerable number of berries in a bunch are shriveled 
and connected with other berries by webs, and upon 
examination we find a very active, dark olive colored 
worm eating the center of the berry. One worm often 
destroys two berries but not more. The only remedy 
suggested is to trim the bunches as soon as the fruit 
is picked and see that all wormy berries are destroyed. 

Grape Leaf Hopper {Typhlocyha vitis) — An in- 
sect that has recently become destructive in many locali- 
ties and one that vineyardists have not learned to control 
with any degree of certainty. It is a small, light 
colored, jumping insect that appears in July and August, 
often in swarms, and, eating out the green color parts 
of the leaf, gives them a light green or almost white 
color, which soon changes to brown, and the leaves fall. 
It also disfigures the fruit with its droppings. 

Remedy — Clean up the vineyard early and give 
thorough cultivation during the early part of the season. 
All litter, leaves and grass should be raked up and 
burned in the fall or early in the spring, then a thorough 
sj)raying with twenty per cent mixture of kerosene early 



INSECT PESTS 



243 



in the season while the insects are not numerous will 
generally kfeep them under control. It has been found 
that by spraying in the morning with a ten per cent 
mechanical mixture of kerosene the insects are knocked 
to the ground;, when by spraying them while on the 
graund with a twenty-five to thirty per cent mixture 
they will be destroyed. 
Many other in- 
sects attack the 
grapC;, but while a 
few of them do seri- 
ous harm and many 
of them are destroyed 
by the insecticides 
used for these de- 
scribed, it is the part 
of wisdom to exam- 
ine the vines criti- 
cally whenever work- 
ing among them and 
to be sure that they 
are not in sufficient 
numbers to do any 
very great damage. 




Fig. 129— Currant Worm Fly 



INSECTS ATTACKING THE CURRANT 

The Imported Currant Borer {Sesia tipuli- 
f or mis) — This insect lays its eggs at the base of buds 
in the spring or early summer, the larvae penetrating 
into the center of the canes, feeding on the pith, and 
causing the leaves to turn yellow or the cane to break 
off. The following season it comes out a perfect insect 
to again go through its range of life. 

Remedy — The presence of this pest may be known 
by the 3^ellow color of the leaves, or the premature 
ripening of the fruit, when the injured canes should be 



244 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



cut out and burned. Care must be taken that the cut 
be made below where the larva is feeding. 

Currant Cane Girdler (Janus flaviventris) — This 
insect attacks the ends of the growing cane, making 
numerous punctures in a circle around it, then lays an 
egg below the girdle. Soon the end of this cane breaks 
off, leaving the egg at the end, the egg hatches, and 
the larva, ensured an abundance of food b}^ the girdle, 
feeds downward toward the base of the cane, where 

the next season it 
may be found from 
one to three feet 
toward the root. 
Remedy — As 
soon as the cane 
breaks off it should 
be cut an inch or 
two further toward 
the base and the 
part containing the 
egg dropped on the 
ground, where it 
will be destroyed by 
the drying of the 
part cut off. 

The Imported Currant Worm {Nematus ventri- 
cosus) — The most destructive insect attacking the cur- 
rant. Figure 129 shows the perfect insect — a, the male; 
h, the female. Figure 130 shows a leaf with the 
eggs arranged on the midrib. The eggs are laid as 
soon as the leaves unfold, the larvae upon hatching 
first making minute holes, as shown in the figure, 
but feeding with such rapidity that in a few days' time 
the bushes are denuded of leaves and the fruit often 
hangs in an unripe state through the remainder of the 
season. Figure 131 shows full-grown larvae feeding. 




Fig. 130— Currant Leaf with Eggs of 
Currant Worm 



INSECT PESTS 



245 



Remedy — As soon as the small holes begin to 
appear in the leaves the bushes should be sprayed with 
powdered hellebore, one tablespoonful to two gallons 
of water, or Paris green, one teaspoonful to the same 
amount of water. If a large plantation is to be treated 
the bordeaux mixture should be used, adding Paris 
green, one-fourth pound to fifty gallons. 

Currant Plant Louse or Aphis {Aphis rihis) — 
Many seasons the leaves of our currant bushes curl up 




Fig. 131— Currant Worms Eating Leaves 

and turn to a reddish-brown color, when upon examina- 
tion we find a mass of these lice feeding within the 
curled leaves. 

Remedy — As with the other aphides the time to 
destroy the pest is when they Just begin to appear and 
before they become numerous and the leaves are badly 
curled. This may be done with the ten per cent mix- 
ture of kerosene or a strong solution of whale-oil soap. 
The work of destruction may be made more certain by 
picking off the leaves most curled. 



24:6 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

Currant Fruit Worm {Eupithecia interrupto-fac- 
iata)- — This insect injures the fruit by attacking a few 
berries in a bunch and when abundant causes much loss 
of fruit and a great amount of labor in preparing it for 
market. 

Remedy — The only remedy suggested is to pick the 
injured clusters as soon as the injury is discovered, and 
destroy them. 

Four-Striped Plant Bug (Poecilocapus lineatus) — 
A bright yellow and black bug about three-tenths of an 
inch long with two black stripes on each wing cover. 
It punctures the young leaves of the currant and goose- 
berry, producing irregular brown spots of dead tissue. 
When these spots are very numerous the leaves drop off. 

Remedy — Spraying with a ten per cent mixture of 
kerosene or by knocking them off into a pan of kerosene 
are the only remedies suggested. In both cases the 
work should be done early in the morning. 

INSECTS ATTACKING THE GOOSEBERRY 

Imported Currant Worm — See under the currant. 

Currant Plant Louse — See under the currant. 

Currant Cane Girdler — See under the currant. 

Gooseberry Fruit Worm (Dahruma convolutella) — 
In habits this insect is much like the currant berry 
moth, and the remedy is the same, which see. 

INSECTS ATTACKING THE RASPBERRY 

Easpherry Root Borer (Bemhecia marginata) — 
Closely resembling the peach borer in many ways. 
They are pretty black and yellow banded insects with 
transparent wings that lay their eggs on the leaves 
in the middle of the summer. The larva feeds upon the 
pith of the canes and passes down to the roots in the 
fall or winter. The following spring it turns and comes 



INSECr TESTS 247 

up, generally through another cane, and undergoes its 
changes several inches above the surface of the ground. 
The canes and the roots are often so injured as to start 
very slowly in the spring, turning yellow in the early 
summer and finally dying. 

Remedy — The only remedy suggested is that of 
cutting of^ the injured canes and digging out the borer 
in the root. Vigorous growth will, in a measure, over- 
come its injury. 

Raspberry Cane Borer (Oherea himaculata) — A 
small long-horned beetle with a black body and a 
pale yellow thorax marked with three black spots. 
It flies in June and 
lays its eggs between 
two girdled places 
near the end of the 
young canes, when 
only a few inches high. 
The canes break off at 

the top girdle, when pj^. ,32_xhe May BeeTle ^ZaZ 

the food supply will be 
increased for the larva that soon hatches and bores down 
the cane, feeding in the pith until the following spring, 
when it comes out a perfect insect in May or June. 
Remedy — To overcome this pest the injured canes 
should be cut off below the lower girdle soon after the 
egg is laid. 

INSECTS ATTACKING THE BLACKBERRY 

Raspberry Root Borer — See under the raspberry. 
Raspberry Cane Borer — See under the raspberry. 

INSECTS ATTACKING THE STRAV7BERRY 

May Beetle (Lachnosterna fusca) (Figure 132) — 
In the larval form this insect is injurious to the straw- 
berry by feeding on the roots of newly set plants. The 




248 



SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



perfect insect is too well known to need description, 
being the large brown beetle that flies at night into our 
open windows in May, called the Mlay beetle or June 
bug, and the larva, the large white grub that we find 
in plowing turf land in the spring and summer. 

Remedy — To prevent injury, the land to be planted 
with strawberries should be clean cultivated one or two 
seasons before the plants are set, as the insects only lay 
their eggs in soil well supplied with roots for their 
young to feed upon and avoid clean cultivated ground. 
The Strawberry Crown Borer {Tyloderma fra- 
gariae) (Figure 133) — A small brown beetle about 

three - sixteenths 
of an inch long 
that lays its eggs 
in June or July 
about the crown 
of the plants. 
The eggs hatch 
soon and the 
larvae pass down 
into the crown, 
feeding upon the crown and surface roots, and become 
perfect insects in August or September. 

Remedy — As this insect is in the larval state during 
the middle of the summer, few or none of the eggs 
will be laid in the neMy set plants, and if the old' bed 
is turned under in July, most if not all of the larvae 
will be destroyed by this operation. Thus where this 
insect is abundant the annual method of cultivation 
of the strawberry becomes a necessity. 

Spotted Paria (Paria sex-notata) — A rather 
smaller beetle than the last, nearly black with three 
light bars on each wing cover. It appears soon after 
the fruit has set, feeding upon the leaves, and when 
in large numbers causes considerable injury in the 





Fig. 133— Strawberry Crown Borer 



INSECT PESTS ^^^ 



beetle form. Its eggs are laid on the crown of the plant 
and no doubt do as much injury m the larval forms as 
nth" mature form. The leaves of the plants attacked 
often show numerous small holes m them and when 
very numerous the young leaves are nearly des royei 
^ Remedy-nomng under the f rmtmg plantation m 
Tiilv has nroved a satisfactory remedy. 
^"''Numerous other insects have at ti-es b-^ /no^^ or 
less iniurious to this crop, but are only of local impor 
anceTnd the reader is referred to the horticulturists 
a to local station and urged to consult them m cases 
of any new pests that may appear upon his grounds. 



XXI 
FUNGOUS DISEASES 

Most of the diseases attacking our fruit trees 
and commonly known as rusts, blights, rots, mildews, 
etc., are known to botanists as fungi or closely allied 
plant growths. As a rule they are minute thread- 
like plants, that, growing in the tissues of other plants 
called "host" plants, just as the corn grows in the soil, 
destroy the parts affected, or so weaken them that 
the leaves fall off, the fruit is spotted or decays, or the 
trunks or branches are injured, etc. The plants of this 
class are often very minute, so much so as to be almost 
invisible to the naked eye, and propagate or increase by 
means of minute seedlike bodies called spores. These 
are so minute as to be invisible to the naked eye, unless 
in masses, and are carried about by the winds, often for 
miles at a time, and consequently there are few localities 
where these spores may not be found, and under favor- 
able conditions be ready to grow. 

Kearly all of this group of plants grow only under 
conditions of moisture and high temperature, though 
same of them, like the apple scab, flourish in rather 
cool weather. Most, if not all, of these spores require 
actual water for their germination, as dew or rain, and 
after becoming rooted in their "host" plant grow in the 
juices of the cellular tissues, sending their roots from 
cell to cell, taking up the cell contents for their own 
development, and the leaves, the branches or other parts 
attacked become weakened because the food supply is 
taken up by the parasite, the amount of injury to any 



r'UNGOUS DISEASES 251 

plant depending upon the number and vigor of the 
parasite or robber plant that is feeding upon its tissues. 
The amount of injury done in a season will depend 
upon, first, the condition of the weather — little or no 
injury being done in cool, dry weather, while in warm, 
moist weather this class of plants are sure to develop 
rapidly ; and second, upon the vigor and strength of the 
host plant to resist the attack of the parasites. 

FUNGICIDES 

Any substance that will destroy or prevent the 
growth of a fungus is called a fungicide, or fungus 
killer, and in the growth of all of our farm and garden 
crops it has become a necessity to use fungicides as 
well as insecticides, and the fruit grower must equip 
himself with apparatus for this work just as much as 
with tools for cultivation if he would insure his crops. 

As explained under the treatment for insect pests, 
so with fungous pests the fruit grower must depend 
upon his local experiment station for full and detailed 
instruction as to preventive measures, appliances, and 
applying fungicides, but a brief description of the 
fungicides in most common use may not be out of place 
in this volume. 

Copper Sulphate — This substance has become an 
almost universal fungicide and is most used in a mix- 
ture with lime known as the bordeaux mixture. 
Standard bordeaux mixture is made up of four pounds 
copper sulphate, four pounds caustic lime and fifty 
gallons of water. But where the fruit is in a condition 
to be disfigured by it, it is used as a weak solution of 
copper sulphate alone. The bordeaux mixture is found 
in the market already prepared for use and under 
various names, and many of them have some value, 
especially where the amount of spraying is small and the 



252 SUCCESSFUL FKUIT CULTURE 

cost of procuring materials and making would be more 
than the crop to be sprayed would be worth, but nu- 
merous experiments have proved beyond doubt that the 
freshly prepared mixture is much more effective and 
cheaper than any thus far found in the markets. 

Solutions of Copper Sulphate — Where the fruit 
would be disfigured by the bordeaux, the two solutions 
of this substance without the lime are used, the 
ammoniacal solution and the simple solution. These 
solutions are equally effectual with the bordeaux for the 
time being, but are so soon washed off, in case of rain 
storms, that they must be renewed after every rain, and 
wherever the bordeaux can be used it will be much more 
satisfactory because more lasting. 

Insecticides and fungicides have become almost as 
much of a necessity as fertilizers in the growth of farm 
and garden crops, and to ensure success in the business, 
the fruit grower must be equipped with the best imple- 
ments for their application. 

The cost of this equipment is so great that many 
small growers cannot afford to purchase it and the only 
way that the work of the small grower can be profitably 
done is by co-operation. One powerful, well-built pump 
with proper nozzles and an abundance of hose would 
be sufficient to do all the spraying in most of our small 
townships, and one man who has become skilled in the 
work would do the same amount much more quickly 
and better than if it were divided among a dozen or 
twenty. The cost of material would be much less when 
bought in large quantities and there would be much less 
waste of material when all was mixed in one set of 
vessels. 

There are often seasons and sections where oiir 
fruit crops escape injury from insect or fungous pests, 
but there are few localities where they always escape, 
and the cost of spraying is so small when done in a 



FUNGOUS DISEASES 253 

business way that no one should risk a complete loss of 
a crop which is sure to come at times when the season 
is especially favorable to insect or fungous life. As 
these pests are so minute as to be illustrated only in 
a highly magnified form, a description is all that will 
be attempted, the reader being referred to more scientific 
works on the subject of fungous pests. 

EUNGOUS PESTS ATTACKING THE APPLE 

The Apple Scah (Fusicla^ium dendriticum) — 
This is an olive green spot fungus that attacks the 
surface of the leaves and fruit, and grows with especial 
vigor during moist, rather cool weather. It feeds 
only on the epidermis or skin of the leaf or fruit, 
often causing the former to fall off during the summer, 
but only disfiguring the fruit, unless it is attacked very 
early in the season, when it too falls off, or it is disfig- 
ured or one-sided. This fungus does not work in the 
tissues of the fruit but disfigures it and injures its looks 
and its keeping qualities. The spores or seeds of this 
pest are so minute as to be invisible except by the 
closest observation, and may be carried long distances 
by the wind. The only preventive is to have the copper 
solutions on fhe leaves and fruit to prevent the growth 
of these spores whenever there is moisture on them. 

Remedy — Spray with the bordeaux in the early 
part of the season and after the fruit is nearly grown 
with the solution of copper sulphate. 

Cedar Apple Fungus {Roestelia pirata) — This 
fungus appears in small yellow clusters on the under 
side of the leaves and sometimes on the fruit, and when 
very abundant both leaves and fruit fall off and the tree 
is seriously weakened. 

Remedy — If the trees are sprayed as per spraying 
calendar issued by each State experiment station, little 
or no injury will come from this fungus. 



254 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

Black Rot (Sphaeropsis malorum) — The dying of 
the end branches of the apple and pear^ and the dead 
patches of bark also found on the large branches and 
trunk, are caused by this disease. The injured parts are 
nearly black in color and studded over with pustules or 
bead-like projections in which the spores are borne. 
It also attacks the fruit in large black masses or some- 
times infests the entire apple. When attacked in the 
young stage the fruit hangs on the trees until the 
following season. 

Remedy — Spraying as for the cedar apple fungus 
is effective. 

Powdery Mildew {Podosphaera oxyacanthae) — This 
fungus attacks young apple seedlings in the nursery 
in the early summer and often so checks their growth 
that they cannot be budded, but is seldom injurious to 
large trees. 

Remedy — The dipping of the seedlings in the bor- 
deaux mixture before they are planted and one or two 
sprayings during the summer will generally prevent 
any injury. Trees planted in good soil on high land in 
full exposure to light and air, are less likely to be 
attacked than those in low places or moist soil. 

FU>IGOUS PESTS ATTACKING THE PEAR 

The Apple Scab and Apple Rust, previously de- 
scribed, are also injurious to the pear, but not to so 
great a degree, and the remedies are the same. 

Leaf Blight or Leaf Spot {Entomosporium macu- 
latum) — This appears first as minute red dots that 
increase to from one-sixteenth to one-eighth of an inch 
in diameter, and when in large numbers cause the leaves 
to fall off in the middle of the summer, seriously 
weakening the tree, or if the fruit is attacked, causing 
it to crack. Sometimes a second set of leaves comes 
out late in the summer, or even blossoms appear, and 



FUNGOUS DISEASES 255 

the wood fails to ripen, in which case the tree is very 
liable to injury during the winter or to the attack of 
the fire blight the following summer. 

Remedy — Spraying as per the spraying calendars 
of the stations will entirely overcome the disease. 

Fire Blight {Bacillus amylovorus) — This is a 
bacterial disease similar to the yeast plant in habit of 
growth that develops rapidly in moist hot weather. The 
minute cells (it is a one-celled plant) or spores enter 
the tree through some soft tissues, possibly the pistil of 
the flower, or some broken place where the bark has 
opened by the growth of the inner cells, when, if the 
weather is hot and the tree in the proper condition, it 
grows very rapidly, requiring but a few days to spread 
through an entire tree. The first appearance of the 
disease may be the wilting of the .leaves of the branch 
or branches attacked. Sometimes only a small branch 
is attacked, while in others the attack may be on the 
main branches, which cuts off circulation, and large 
portions of the tree die. 

Remedy — All diseased branches should be cut off 
as soon as the disease appears, as far back as the wood 
seems to be injured, and burned, and everything be done 
that is possible to give the tree a vigorous, but sound 
and hard growth of wood. Few trees will be injured 
by this disease if they are properly protected from the 
leaf blight during the summer. 

FUNGOUS PESTS ATTACKING THE PEACH 

Peach Scab or Blach Spot {Cladosporium car- 
pophilum) — In seasons when there are frequent rains 
and close moist weather this fungus is often destructive 
to many varieties of peaches. It is more prevalent on 
low land than where it is high and in full exposure to 
air and sunlight. When the fruit is attacked early in 
the season the growth of the parts affected is checked 



256 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

and it becomes one-sided, falls off, or often cracks 
open. Even if only spotted the quality of the frnit is 
so injured as to be worthless. 

Re^nedy — Spraying before the leaves appear in the 
spring with the strong bordeaux (4 :4 :50), and when the 
leaves have opened with the dilute bordeaux (4:4:200), 
will prevent its attack. It is best also to spray once 
after the leaves have unfolded and at least twice the 
last of July and early August. Paris green should 
never be used on peach foliage, but arsenate of lead 
may be safely used. 

Brown Rot, Fruit Rot, Tivig Blight {Monilia 
fructigena) — This is one of the most destructive of the 
fungi attacking the peach, causing the rotting of most 
of the early kinds and often some of the later kinds. 
It also attacks the twigs in the hot, moist weather of 
summer, often doing serious harm. The fruit is first 
turned brown and soon is covered with myriads of light 
gray or almost white spores. The branches attacked 
are killed, while the fruit drops off or dries on the tree, 
often remaining through the fall and winter. Such 
varieties as the Alexander, Triumph, etc., very seldom 
escape unless the ripening season is dry and rather cool. 

Remedy — All dried or mummied fruit should be 
picked from the trees in the winter or spring and be 
burned and the branches spra^^ed with the strong 
solution of copper sulphate just before the leaves begin 
to unfold in the spring. Otherwise the treatment is 
the same as for the black spot. This fungus also 
attacks all of the stone fruits, and none of the dried fruit 
should be allowed to remain on the trees after new 
growth of leaves begins, as the spores are sure to increase 
the amount of this disease on the peach and other 
stone fruits. 

Peach Curl {Exoascus deformans) — In seasons 
when the weather comes on very hot in May so as to 



FUNGOUS DISEASES 25? 

cause an early and rapid growth and is followed by very 
low temperature, the growth of the leaves is so checked 
that this fungus finds the right conditions in which to 
develop; the leaves become thickened and distorted and 
after a time drop off, to be followed by another set of 
leaves a little later. If the trees are vigorous and 
healthy the growth will be but little checked by this 
attack, but if the trees are not vigorous the injury is 
often very great. It is not often seriously injurious in 
orchards in rather light land and on high elevations. 
In the orchards of the Massachusetts agricultural college, 
which the author has had charge of for thirty years, 
no serious injury has occurred, but two seasons, and 
none to speak of for fifteen years, or since the practice 
of spraying has been a part of the routine of the care 
of the orchards. 

Remedy — Spraying before the leaves unfold with 
the standard bordeaux, and again soon after they are 
well developed with dilute bordeaux (4:4:200), is a 
certain remedy. 

Peach Yellows — This is an obscure disease, or 
condition of growth, of which no specific fungus or 
bacterial germs or growth has been discovered. It 
shows itself in many different ways. When it attacks 
the tree it may be known by a smaller growth of leaf, 
narrow, of a lighter color in its first stages, and as it 
advances they grow in clusters or tufts and are often 
of a reddish color; sometimes only one branch is 
affected, but sooner or later the whole tree will die 
unless it be severely headed back and fertilized abund- 
antly. The fruit ripens prematurely, is of a more 
brilliant color than is usual, and often bitter to the 
taste. It is also of small size. Most old trees as they 
approach maturity show all of the symptoms of the 
yellows. The disease is probably of a physiological 
nature and may be brought on by any cause that 



258 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

weakens the tree, as severe weather in winter following 
a season of coarse and immature growth, overbearing, 
injury from insects, etc., etc. 

Remedy — The disease being of so obscure a nature 
it is not profitable to spend much effort in trying to 
doctor sick trees, especially as young trees can be grown 
to bearing size in three years' time, and when trees 
show unmistakable signs of the disease it is best to pull 
them out and burn them at any time during the summer, 
fall or v/inter, and plant young trees in their place. 
This is the practice in the large peach growing sections 
of Michigan and other States. Anything that can be 
done to increase the hardiness and firmness of the wood 
and bud growth will tend to protect them from this 
disease, as frequent cultivation, or the application of 
an abundance of potash and phosphoric acid, with only 
nitrogen enough to produce a moderate amount of 
wood, etc. 

Peach Rosette is a disease somewhat of the same 
nature of the yellows, but appears earlier in the season 
and is characterized by a more leafy growth, and should 
be treated the same as the yellows. 

Powdery Mildew (PodospJiaera oxyacanthae) — See 
under the apple. 

Leaf Rust {Puccinia pruni'Spinosa)—See under 
the plum. 

FUNGOUS PESTS ATTACKING THE PLUM 

Blach Knot, Black Wart, etc. (Plowrightia mar- 
hosa) — More of the plum trees of both the European 
and Japanese varieties are destroyed by this pest than 
by any other causes. It is known by the large black 
excrescences seen on neglected plum trees, and is a 
fungous growth, the spores of which enter the tissues 
at some soft place, and, growing rapidly, soon cause the 
death of the tree unless checked in its early development. 



FUNGOUS DISEASES 259 

Remedy — If the trees are sprayed with the bor- 
deaux mixture (4:4:50) as per spraying calendar of 
the stations, this fungus will be kept under control. If 
any warts appear they should be cut off and burned in 
the winter or spring before growth begins. 

Shot-hole Fungus (Cylindrosporium padi) (Sep- 
toria cerasina Peck) — This fungus attacks all of the 
plums, and in very moist seasons is very destructive 
unless the trees are thoroughly sprayed. It first 
appears as small red spots in the leaf which soon in- 
crease in size and turn brown. After a time the 
brown part of the leaf drops out, leaving small holes, 
which gives the name to the disease. 

Remedy — Spraying as for the last named fungi. 

Leaf Rust (Puccinia pruni-spinosa) — In its effect 
upon the tree and in general appearance this fungus 
is very much like the last; the spots, however, are 
smaller and as a rule, more numerous, and cause the 
leaves to fall in the same way. In some sections of the 
country it is more prevalent than the shot-hole fungus 
and in others less so. Both are readily controlled by 
spraying as above described. 

Plum Pockets, Plum Bladders {Exoascus pruni) 
— This fungus attacks the fruit while young, causing 
it to swell until it often reaches full size in a few days, 
first light green or yellow, then as the spores develop 
on the outside, it assumes a grayish color and 
then a dark brown. The American varieties are more 
subject to its attack than are the European or the 
Japanese. 

Remedy — Spraying as for the last two fungi will 
be found effectual in keeping this pest in check. 

Brown Rot (Monilia fructigena) — See under the 
peach. 

Powdery Mildew (Podosphaera oxyacanthae) — See 
under the apple. 



260 SUCCESSFUL FKUIT CULTURE 

FUifGOUS PESTS ATTACKING THE QUINCE 

Black Rot (Sphaeropsis ma Zorwm)— Previously de- 
scribed under the apple. 

Fire Blight (Bacillus amylovorus) — This disease, 
previously described under the apple, rarely attacks 
more than the twigs of end shoots, sometimes destroying 
all of the fruit, but I know of no instance where the 
whole tree has been destroyed, or even permanently 
injured. 

Remedy- — Cutting off the diseased shoots and keep- 
ing the trees in a healthy condition are the only pre- 
ventive measures thus far known. 

Leaf Blight (Entomosporium maculatum) — The 
leaf blight of the pear is often as destructive to this 
fruit. See under the pear. 

Quince Rust (Roestelia aurantiaca) — This rust is 
similar in growth and appearance to the cedar apple 
fungus described under the apple. It attacks the fruit 
and also the branches, and when in the fruiting stage 
gives the parts attacked a golden yellow color. Duriri;; 
the fall and winter the injured parts are black. 

FUNGOUS PESTS ATTACKING THE CHERRY 

Brown Rot {Monilia fructigena) — See under the 
plum. 

Leaf Blight (Cylindrosporium padi) — See under 
the plum. 

Blade Knot (Plowrightia mor'bosa)^^QQ under the 
plum. 

Powdery Mildew (Podosphaera oxyacanthae) — See 
under the apple. 

FUNGOUS PESTS ATTACKING THE GRAPE 

Anthracnose, Scab, Bird's-Eye Rot (Spaceloma am- 
pelinum DeB.) — This is one of the most destructive 



FUNGOUS DISEASES 261 

diseases that we have, growing as it does on all parts 
of the vine, and in its early stages so difficult to dis- 
tinguish. In its first stage of growth it presents minute 
circular brown spots on the fruit and larger dark gray 
or reddish-brown areas on the stems and leaves. Some 
varieties are more subject to the attack of the anthrac- 
nose than others, those containing European blood, i. e., 
those originating from crosses of European and Amer- 
ican varieties, being more likely to be attacked than 
pure native seedlings like the Concord, etc. 

Remedy — Spraying with the bordeaux mixture be- 
fore the leaves unfold and two or three times in May 
and June, as per spraying calendars, is effectual in keep- 
ing this disease in control. 

Black Rot (Guignardia Bidwellii) -^This, disease is 
called the black rot from the fact that the fruiting pus- 
tules and the fruit, in its last stages of disease, are black, 
though when it first appears it is grayish in color. In 
the center of all the diseased spots, whether on the 
leaves or fruit, may be found numerous black pustules 
which contain the spores of the fungus. It appears 
most abundantly and does the most injury when the 
berries are nearly full grown. 

Remedy — Thorough spraying must be done 
throughout the season to prevent injury when the dis- 
ease has once become established. See spraying cal- 
endar. 

Dotvny Mildeiv, Brown Rot, Gray Rot (Peronospora 
viticola) — The stems, leaves and fruit are attacked by 
this fungus, which in moist, hot weather is likely to do 
serious harm unless spraying is practiced. On its first 
appearance the leaves are of a lighter green on the parts 
attacked, which is soon followed by a whitish powder, 
the spores of the fungus, that are scattered by the wind 
and are sure to grow when the weather is hot and 
moist. Leaves, fruit and canes are subject to attack. 



262 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

Light rains or misty weather are especially favorable to 
its growth, but heavy rains wash off the spores and are 
therefore preventive. Such varieties containing foreign 
blood as the Delaware, Brighton, Rogers Hybrids, etc., 
are especially subject to this disease and the next. 

Remedy — First, do everything possible to insure a 
vigorous, strong vine, then spray with the bordeaux 
according to the calendar. 

Powdery Mildew {Uncinula spiralis) — This fungus 
is similar to the last in its effect upon the leaves and 
stems of the grape, and sometimes attacks the fruit, but 
it does not appear, generally, until late in the season. 
It is darker gray in color and often covers over every 
part of the leaf and young cane. 

Remedy — Where this pest is abundant spraying 
must be done the last of August and early September 
with the simple solution of copper sulphate, four ounces 
to fifty gallons of water, and repeated once or twice if 
heavy rains wash it off. The bordeaux mixture cannot 
be used at this time, as it would disfigure the fruit by 
adhering to the stems. 

FUNGOUS PESTS ATTACKING THE RASPBERRY 

Anthracnose, Cane Rust (Gloeosporium venetum) 
— Similar to the anthracnose of the grape, appearing in 
June and July and attacking the new canes principally, 
but sometimes the leaves also. On old plantations it 
is more destructive than on those recently planted. 

Remedy — The free use of the bordeaux mixture 
once before the leaves unfold and once or twice after 
the leaves have opened, but before the fruit has set, will 
control this disease. 

Leaf Blight, Leaf Spot {8eptoria rubi) — This 
disease appears the latter part of summer in the forni 
of small, light brown spots, attacking the lower leaves 
first and working toward the top of the canes, so that 



FUNGOUS DISEASES 263 

at the end of the season only a few of the npper leaves 
remain uninjured. If this loss of leaves occurs early 
in August, as it sometimes does, the canes are very 
seriously injured. 

Remedy — Spraying as for the anthracnose will also 
overcome this disease. 

Spring Orange Rust (Coema luminata) — This dis- 
ease first appears in the spring, the leaves and canes 
attacked being light green in color, which is followed 
by large masses of golden yellow spores, and the final 
drying up of the parts attacked. The spores probably 
germinate during the summer and fall and grow in the 
tissues near the ground, to start into vigorous growth 
with the new growth of the canes in the spring. 

Remedy — The spraying done for the anthracnose 
and leaf blight has but little effect upon this pest, as it 
is growing inside of the plant, but if the plants are 
thoroughly sprayed two or three times after the fruit 
is gathered in the summer, the spores will be prevented 
from germinating and becoming established in the new 
growth during the latter part of the summer. Also, as 
soon as the disease can be detected in the spring, all 
Ejected canes should.be removed and burned. 

Fall Orange Rust (Phragmidium alhida) — This 
disease appears during the latter part of summer and 
early fall on the under side of the leaves of many varie- 
ties of the raspberry and blackberry. The clusters of 
spores are bright orange yellow and are much more 
scattered than those of the spring orange rust. 

Remedy — If spraying is done as soon as the fruit 
has been gathered, as for the last disease, it will prevent 
serious injury. 

FUNGOUS PESTS ATTACKING THE BLACKBERRY 

Leaf 8 pot {8eptoria rubi) — See under the rasp- 
berry. 



264 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

Spring Orange Bust {Coema luminata) — See under 
the raspberry. 

Fall Orange Rust (Phragmidium alhida) — See 
under the raspberry. . 

FUNGOUS PESTS ATTACKING THE CURRANT 

Antliracnose, Leaf Blight (Gloeosporium ribis) — 
A fungus that appears first in rather fine dots on the 
leaves the latter part of June or July, and when in 
large numbers causing the leaves to fall in a few weeks, 
leaving the canes bare until the following spring. The 
result of this is that they make but little growth and 
bear very small or very little fruit the season after being 
attacked. 

Remedy — Spray with the bordeaux mixture thor- 
oughly just before the leaves unfold and again just 
before the blossoms open, using Paris green the second 
time for the currant worm. A third spraying with a 
weak bordeaux (4:4:200), having it well strained so 
as not to disfigure the fruit, about the first of July, 
will be beneficial. 

Rust, Leaf Spot (Septoria ribis) — Similar to the 
last in, general appearance, but producing larger spots 
and coming later in the season. It attacks the lower 
leaves first and works toward the top of the canes, until 
only a few leaves are left on the canes. 

Remedy — Same as for the last. 

FUNGOUS PESTS ATTACKING THE GOOSEBERRY 

Mildew (Sphaerotheca morsuvae) — The foliage and 
fruit of the gooseberry are often covered with a light 
gray powder early in the season that stops growth of 
the bush and destroys the fruit. In dry, rather cool 
seasons there is little of this disease. 

Remedy — If abundantly sprayed with the bordeaux 
mixture early in the spring and before the fruit is full 



FUNGOUS DISEASES 265 

grown, and with the dilute bordeaux as it approaches 
maturity, the injury will be largely prevented. 

Rust, Leaf Spot (Septoria rihis) — See under the 
currant. 

FUNGOUS PESTS ATTACKING THE STRAWBERRY 

Leaf Blight, Biist (Sphaerella fragariae) — The 
reddish or brown spots that come so abundantly on the 
leaves of the strawberry in the spring or summer are 
caused by this fungus. It grows most abundantly in 
warm, moist weather, and when the plants are in a 
weakened condition from any cause. 

Remedy — To insure the best results from the use 
of the bordeaux mixture, the leaves of the plants should 
be dipped in it before they are set in the spring, and 
the growing plants sprayed several times during the 
summer. In the spring, before fruiting, the beds should 
be sprayed once or twice before the blossoms open. 

Mildeiu (Sphaerotheca castagnei) — The fungus 
produces a light grayish growth on the surface of the 
fruit and leaves in the spring that seriously checks the 
growth of the plants and injures the berries. 

Remedy — A vigorous growth of plant should be 
produced by an abundance of plant food in the soil, and 
the use of the bordeaux for the leaf blight will do 
the rest. 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Apple aphis 231 

assorting 61 

black rot of 254 

boxes vs. barrels 62 

budding 187 

bud sticks 187 

budding, conditions for 

success .189 

buds, cutting off stock.. 189 
buds, first year in nur- 
sery 190 

buds, second year in nur- 
sery 190 

buds, forming head 190 

buds, nursery treatment 

of 189 

cedar fungus 253 

classification of varie- 
ties 52 

climate and soil for 8 

common 7 

co-operation in market- 
ing 67 

eo-operation in selling... 190 
digging the holes for 

trees 15 

evaporated 4 

exporting 4, 65 

facing 58 

home market 65 

heading barrels 63 

insects injurious to ...... 183 

maggot 234 

marketing .65 

trees, Ko. 1 62 

trees. No. 2 62 

number of bushels 2 

orchard, distance for 

planting 12 

orchard, double thick 

planting 12 

orchard fillers 12 

orchard, green manur- 
ing 11 

orchards, large 12 

orchard, laying out 13 

orchard, »'esult of close 

planting 13 

orchard planting board.. 15 
orchard, preparation of 
land for 10 



A , , , PAGE 

Apple orchard, preparation 

of trees for 9 

orchard, young trees for. 9 

propagation of 183 

propagation of stocks.. ..184 

powdery mildew of 254 

package and packing 62 

root grafts, packing of. 186 

root grafts, planting 186 

root grafts, conditions of 

success 190 

root grafts, first year in 

nursery 190 

root grafts, second year 

in nursery 190 

scab 253 

slope and exposure of 

land 8 

seeds, care of 184 

seed bed 184 

seed sowing 184 

seedlings, thinning 184 

seedlings, fertilizers for. 184 
seedlings, cultivation of. 184 

seedlings, digging 185 

seedlings, heeling-in 185 

seedlings, root grafting 

the 185 

seedlings, budding 187 

selection of varieties 52 

stenciling barrels 64 

storing 67 

storing in bushel boxes.. 61 
tree borer, flat-headed. .224 
tree borer, round-headed. 223 

trench plowing 10 

trees, where to obtain... 10 
trees, number of in Unit- 
ed States 2 

trees, protection of roots.191 
varieties of: Albemarle 

Pippin 57 

Alexander 57 

Astrachan 53 

Baldwin , 55 

Ben Davis 55 

Danvers Sweet 58 

Early Harvest 11 

Fallawater 58 

Fameuse 55 

Fall Pippin 55 

Golden Sweet 57 

Gravenstein 54 

Grimes Golden 58 



268 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Apple, varieties of: Hub- 

bardston 55 

Jacob Sweet 57 

Jonathan 58 

King 56 

Lady Apple 58 

Ladies' Sweet 57 

Leicester Sweet 58 

. Mackintosh 55 

Newtown Pippin 57 

Oldenburg 54 

Pomme Royale 58 

Pumpkin Sweet 57 

Rhode Island Greening.. 56 

Roxbury Russet 56 

Spy 56 

Sutton Beauty 56 

Sweet Bough 57 

Twenty Ounce 58 

"Washington Royale (Pal- 
mer Greening) 56 

Wealthy 54 

Williams 54 

Wolf River 58 

Apricot— care of 92 

. origin of 93 

pruning of 92 

propagation of 196 

protecting from insects.. 93 

stock for 92 

thinning fruit 92 

under glass 207 

varieties of: Montgamet. 93 

Moorpark 93 

Peach 94 

Russian 94 

B 

Barrels, cleaning 63 

Bearing year of fruit trees. 45 
Blackberry— age of bearing. 132 

cultivation of 131 

dewberry 137 

hill system 131 

importance of 130 

planting 131 

pruning 132 

row system 131 

soil for 130 

summer pruning 133 

time for planting 131 

training .134 

trellis for 134 

varieties oft Agawam ..136 

Ancient Briton 136 

Bangor 136 

Early Harvest 136 

Eldorado 136 

Erie 136 

^ Mersereau 136 

Ohmer 136 

Snyder 136 



PAGE 
Blackberry, varieties of: 

Taylor 136 

winter protection for ...135 

dewberry 137 

dewberry, method of cul- 
tivation 137 

dewberry, variety best, 

Lucretia 138 

dewberry, fungous pests 

attacking 264 

Black knot fungus 258 

Blueberry bushes, cutting 

back 175 

bushes, fertilizers for. ...175 
bushes, transplanting. . . ,174 
growing, conditions for 

success 174 

importance of 174 

mulching 175 

pasture rotation .175 

Brown rot fungus 256 

Budding knives .188 

Budding 187 

C 

Canker worm 230 

Cedar apple fungus 253 

Cherry— importance of 103 

Bigarreau 104, 107 

classification of varie- 
ties 104 

Duke 107 

fertilizers for 103 

heart 104 

insects attacking ..241 

aphis 241 

marketing the 107 

Morello 107 

Mahaleb 190 

Mazzard 190 

orchard 103 

soil for 103 

propagation of 196 

pruning the 104 

seedlings, soil for 196 

seedlings, nursery treat- 
ment 196 

sour 104, 107 

tree, cracking of trunk.. 104 

varieties of: Heart 107 

Gov. Wood 107 

Black Tartarian 107 

Downer's Late 107 

Windsor 107 

Bigarreau 107 

Yellow Spanish 107 

Cleveland 107 

Rockport 107 

Schmidt lOJ 

Duke ....107 

May Duke ....107 



INDEX 



269 



PAGE 

Cherry, varieties of: Royal 

Duke 107 

Morello 107 

Early Richmond 107 

English Morello 107 

Montmorency 107 

Cions— time of cutting 50 

storing 51 

Citrus fruits 176 

Codlin moth 233 

Cold grapery 213 

preparation of border of.213 
storage house, construc- 
tion of 68 

Commercial fertilizers for 

orchards 30 

Co-operation in selling fruit. 67 
in spraying 222 

Copper solutions 252 

sulphate 257 

Cover crops in orchard 32 

crops in orchard, time 
for sowing 33 

Cultivation — effects of 23 

implements for — 24 

Currant anthracnose 264 

black, importance of 150 

black, varieties of: Black 

English 243 

Black Naples 243 

Lee's Prolific 243 

borer (imported) 243 

cane girdler 244 

distance for planting — 147 

fruit worm 246 

golden flowering, impor- 
tance of 151 

golden flowering, variety: 

Crandall's Improved — 151 
harvesting and market- 
ing 146 

red, importance of 147 

insects attacking 243 

leaf spot' 246 

planting 148 

pruning 243 

plant louse 245 

striped plant bug ..246 

worm (imported) 244 

red, varieties of: Wilder. 146 

Cherry -.146 

Fay's 146 

Red Cross 146 

Pomona 146 

White Imperial 146 



D 



Dewberry— importance of — 137 

method of cultivation 137 

varieties of 137 



E 

PAGE 

Evaporated fruit 4 

F 

Fertilizers for orchard 29 

Fig — importance of 180 

cultivation and pruning. 181 

growing in tubs 181 

varieties of : Black Ischia. 181 

Brunswick 181 

Adriatic 181 

Forcing strawberries 216 

Foreign market for fruit — 3 
Fruit as a promoter of 

health 2 

as a luxury 2 

as a money crop 2 

canned 4 

cost of production 5 

evaporated 4 

growing, future of 5 

house, cost of 206 

house, curvilinear 205 

house, lean-to 206 

under glass, importance 

of .....205 

trees in pots, summer 

care of 211 

trees in pots, winter pro- 
tection 210 

Fungous diseases 250 

Fungicides .251 

Fungous pests attacking the 

apple 253 

pear 254 

peach 255 

plum 258 

quince 260 

cherry 260 

grape 260 

raspberry and blackberry 

262-264 

currant 264 

gooseberry 264 

strawberry 265 

G 

Gooseberry fruit worm 246 

importance of 151 

insects attacking 246 

method of cultivation — 151 

mildew 264 

propagation of by cut- 
tings 201 

propagation of by stools. 201 

pruning 151 

soil for the 151 

varieties of: Columbus.. 152 

Downing 152 

Red Jacket 152 

Industry — 152 



270 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Grafting 47 

chisel 47 

cions for 47 

cleft 47 

crown 49 

methods of HI 

root 185 

stock for 185 

wax 49 

Grape anthracnose 260 

belt 114 

berry moth 242 

black rot 260 

crop of United States, 

number of pounds 2 

cold grapery ...212 

cold storage of 125 

cuttings 198 

cultivation of 118 

distance of planting 115 

downy mildew 260 

European 114 

fertilizers for 117 

fox 114 

fruit 1J6 

frost 114 

gathering the 123 

girdling the vine 128 

grafting the 200-201 

importance of 114 

insects attacking 242 

layer, spring 199 

layer, summer 199 

leaf hopper 242 

mildew, downy 262 

mildew, powdery 262 

origin and history of 114 

picking tray 124 

packing and shipping 124 

planting the vine 116 

preparation of soil 115 

propagation of the 198 

pruning summer 120-121 

pruning old vines 122 

thinning 123 

training, first year 120 

training, second year — 120 

training, third year 121 

training, Kniffin system. 119 
training, modified Knif- 
fin system 121 

trellis, posts for ..118 

trellis, wires 119 

trellis, braces for 120 

under glass, cold grapery.212 
under glass, preparation 

of border 213 

under glass, planting and 
training the vine, first 

year 213 

under glass, planting and 
training the vine, sec- 
ond year 214 



PAGE 

Grapes under glass, planting 
and training the vine, 

third year 215 

under glass, thinning the 

fruit 216 

under glass, hothouse 216 

under glass, varieties of: 

Foster's Seedling 216 

Buckland Sweet Water.. 216 

Black Hamburg 216 

varieties, outdoor: black, 

Campbell's .126 

Concord 126 

Wilder 126 

Worden 125 

red, Brighton 126 

Delaware, 126 

white, Green Mountain.. 127 

Moore's Diamond 127 

Niagara 127 

I 

Imported currant worm 244 

currant borer ....243 

Introduction 1 

Insects attacking apple 223 

blackberry 247 

currant 243 

cherry 241 

grape 241 

peach 238 

pear 236 

plum 239-240 

quince 241 

raspberry 246 

strawberry 248 

Insect pests 220 

pests, effect of weather 

upon 221 

pests, extent of injury... 220 

Insecticides 221 

arsenate of lead 221 

arsenate of lime 221 

arsenate of soda 221 

arsenic, white 221 

crude petroleum 221 

hellebore 221 

kerosene 221 

London purple 221 

linseed oil 221 

Paris green 221 

pyrethrum 221 

whale oil soap 221 

Insect pests — prevention 220 

pests, spraying for 222 

pests, spraying outfit fo.r.222 

L 

Labels for trees 22 

Ladders 59 

step • 60 



INDEX 



271 



PAGE 

Leaf spores 64 

Lemons 176 

Loquat 182 

importance of 182 

M 

May beetle 247 

Medlar 182 

importance of 182 

Mulberry ., 112 

importance of 112 

varieties of: Downing ...113 

New American 113 

Tea's Weeping 113 

N 

Nectarine 92-94 

care of 94 

protection from insects.. 94 

propagation of 196 

varieties of: Boston 94 

Pitmaston 94 

Rivers Orange 94 

O 

Oranges— cultivation of or- 
chard 177 

cover crop in orchard — 178 
fertilizers for orchard ... 177 

gold (kumquat) 180 

importance of 176 

number of boxes 3 

mandarin 176 

planting orchards 177 

protection of trees from 

frost o 179 

sour 176 

sweet 176 

stock for sweet 177 

training trees 177 

varieties of: Boone's 

Early ; 180 

Homosassa 180 

Jaffa 180 

Maltese Blood 180 

Pineapple 180 

Satsuma 180 

Washington navel 180 

Orchard — apple, age of 

bearing 44 

apple, commercial ferti- 
lizing 30 

apple, cover crops for 32 

apple, cultivation of 23 

apple, fertilization and 

care 29 

apple, green manuring 

for 32 

apple, mulching 34 

apple, odd year bearing.. 44 
apple, preparing trees for 
planting 17 



/^ 1, ^ , PAGE 

Orchard, apple, planting 

trees in 16 

apple, planting the tree. 16 

pruning 35 

pruning, first year 36 

regrafting old trees 46 

stable manuring 29 

turf culture 27 

utilizing wastes of 4 

Oyster shell bark louse 225 

P 

Peach— after pruning 81 

aphis 239 

basket 90 

basket, cost of 96 

borer 238-240 

brown rot 256 

curl 256 

house for the 207 

harvesting and market- 
ing 89 

importance of 78 

keeping fruit 91 

orchard, care of 81 

orchard, cover crops 83 

orchard, distance of 

planting 79 

orchard, fertilizers for... 84 

orchard, in turf 83 

orchard, land for 79 

orchard, four years old. 86 
orchard, five years old... 87 
orchard, preparation of 

land for 79 

orchard, preparation of 

trees for planting 80 

orchard, trees for plant- 
ing 79 

orchard, cultivated 85 

packages 89 

propagation 194 

pruning, first year 81 

rosette 258 

seeds 194 

seeds, budding 194 

seeds, natural fruit 194 

seeds, planting 194 

seedlings budded, first 

year 195 

scab 255 

seedlings, budding 195 

seedlings, cultivation of.l95 

thinning fruit 89 

trees, No. 1 80, 195 

trees. No. 2 80, 195 

tree, pruned 83 

tree, pruning 81 

trees, number of 2 

tree, number of bushels 

fruit 2 

tree, unpruned 84 



272 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Peach under glass 207 

under glass, drainage of 

border 208 

under glass, preparation 

of border 207 

under glass, fertilizing... 209 
under glass, pruning and 

training .- 210 

under glass, planting ...208 
under glass, thinning ...210 
under glass, trees for.... 208 
under glass, watering.... 209 
under glass, varieties of: 

Royal George ...210 

Golden Eagle •••••?}? 

Goshawk 210 

varieties of: Alexander.. 88 

Early Rivers 88 

Sneed 88 

Mountain Rose oo 

Carman 88 

Champion 88 

Oldmixon 88 

Triumph 88 

Crawford Early 88 

Crawford Late 88 

Elberta 88 

Crosby 88 

yellows -^^^ 

Pear— age of bearing 73 

after care of tree 73 

cold storage 77 

distance for planting 72 

fire blight 255 

gathering 76 

harvesting 76 

importance of 71 

leaf blight 240 

leaf blister mite 237 

marketing 76 

orchard 72 

picking and packing — 77 

propagation of 192 

propagation of seedling 

stock 192 

propagation, nursery 

treatment 193 

propagation, soil for ....193 

pruning, first year 72 

ripening 77 

seedlings, budding 193 

seedlings, storing 76 

soil for 72 

trees for planting 72 

topworking 193 

varieties of: Anjou 75 

Ansault 73 

Bartlett 74 

J30SC 75 

Clapp 74 

Dana's Hovey 76 

Gifford 74 

Kieffer 75 



PAGE 

Pear, varieties of: Law- 
rence — . 76 

Margaret 74 

Patrick Barry 76 

Seckel 75 

Sheldon 75 

Worden Seckel 76 

Persimmon .181 

importance of .181 

Japanese 181 

varieties of: Hyakume...l82 

Yeddo 182 

Plum— American stocks for. 102 

age of bearing 98 

aphis 240 

black knot 258 

classification of 95 

curculio 238-239 

cultivation 97 

European 96 

European stock for 96 

fungous pests 258 

importance of 95 

Japanese, stock for 96 

leaf rust 95 

pocket 259 

propagation of ....... 196 

propagation, nursery 

treatment 196 

propagation, stocks for. .196 

pruning 97 

shot-hole fungus 259 

thinning fruit 98 

varieties of: American, 

Hammer 102 

Hawkeye 102 

TVildgoose 102 

y^^olt 102 

Wyant 102 

European 99 

Bradshaw — 101 

Fellenberg 101 

Gen. Hand 101 

Green Gage 101 

Kingston 101 

Lincoln 101 

McLaughlin 101 

Quackenboss .......101 

Pond's Seedling 101 

Smith's Orleans.. 101 

Victoria 101 

Japanese, Abundance 101 

Burbank • 101 

Chabot 101 

October Purple 101 

Red June ...101 

Satsuma .-lOl 

Wickson .101 

Picking baskets 59 

Pomelo (grape fruit) •♦41n 

varieties of: Duncan *".1°0 

Royale ,..*... . . *. . . .IfO 

Triumph ........iw 



INDEX 



273 



PAGE 

Powdery mildew 258 

Propagation of apple Ill 

apricot 196 

^ blackberry .202 

blackcap 203 

cherry 196 

currant 201 

fruit trees 183 

, gooseberry 201 

grape 198 

importance of home 

grown trees 183 

nectarine 196 

peach , '. . .194 

pear 192 

, plum 196 

pomelo 180 

quince 197 

red raspberry 202 

strawberry 203 

Prunes — number of pounds 
grown in United States. 3 

Pruning — covering wounds 

made in 40 

large branches ....... 38 

for form . , 38 

rules for 38 

hooks 41 

saws 40 

shears 42 

time for 42 

Pumps, spraying .222 

Q 

Quince— bush form 109 

Champion 110 

cultivation of 110 

cuttings 197 

distance for planting 109 

fertilizers for 110 

harvesting fruit 110 

importance of 108 

insects attacking i^^l 

layering 197 

orchard, soil for 108 

propagation of 197 

pruning 108 

. root grafting 197 

soil for 108 

stool, first year 197 

stool, second year 197 

tree formed 108 

R 

Raspberry anthracnose 262 

blackcap, importance of. 143 
blackcap, distance for 

planting 144 

blackcap, propagation ..144 

blackcap pruning 144 

varieties of: Palmer 145 

Kansas 145 



Raspberry, varieties of: 

Cumberland 145 

purple cap, importance.. 145 
purple cap, varieties of: 

Shaffer 146 

Columbian 146 

yellow cap, importance.. 146 

cane borer 247 

fall orange rust 263 

fungous pests attacking. 262 

insects attacking 246 

leaf spot 262 

root borer 2^6 

spring orange rust 263 

red, distance for planting.139 

red, importance of 139 

red, pruning and train- 
ing 139 

red, winter protection.... 141 
red, varieties of: Cuth- 

bert 142 

King 142 

Loudon 142 

Miller 142 

Phoenix '.'.'.'.'.'.'.Ii2 

Thompson's Pride .....'.'."!l42 
Early Prolific 142 

S 

San Jose scale 228 240 

Spotted paria ' 248 

Spraying pumps ,'.'.' *222 

Strawberry— arrangement of 
staminate and pistillate 

^plants 155 

baskets ige 

crates [][ie6 

crown borer 248 

cultivation of !!!!l59 

diseases of 265 

fertilizers for 153, 160 

fitting the land 154 

hedge row system 157 

hill system 157 

importance of 153 

irrigating fields 160 

irrigating, ditch system. 161 

irrigating, sprinkling 162 

irrigating, time to apply 

water 162 

best kinds of plants 155 

leaf spot or blight 265 

Marshall carrier 166 

matted row 159 

mulching ..162 

mildew 265 

picking and pickers 166 

plants, pistillate 155 

plants, staminate 155 

plants from fruiting field. 203 

planting time for 154 

planting, depth of 150 



274 



INDEX 



PAGES 

Strawberry, propagation of.203 

sorting 167 

spraying 160 

spring treatment 160 

summer bedding of 

plants 163 

varieties of: Bubach (pis- 
tillate) 165 

Brandy wine (staminate).165 

Clyde (s.) 164 

Dunlap (s.) 165 

Excelsior (s.) 165 

Gandy (s.) 165 

Glen Mary (s.) 165 

Haverland (p.) 164 

Marshall ^(s.) 164 

Nick Ohmer (s.) 164 

Sample (p.) 164 

Seaford (p.) ....164 

Warfield (p.) 164 

winter protection of 162 

under glass, extent of 216 

under glass, conditions ol 

success 217 

under glass, layering the 

plants for forcing 217 

unde. glass, tempera- 
ture 219 

under glass, fertilizers 
for 219 



T 

PAGE 

Tent caterpillar 227 

Thinning fruit— advantages 

of 43 

fruit, time for 43 

fruit, cost of 43 

Tools— landside plow 22 

cutaway orchard harrow. 26 

grape hoe 26 

spring-tooth Acme har- 
row 25 

weeder 27 

Top-working the pear 193 

Trees — establishing the 

head 18 

heeling-in 20 

increasing bight of top 

of young 19 

labeling 22 

low-headed 18 

planting 21 

Turf culture in orchards.... 27 

V 

Vineyard— the 115 

the best soil for 115 

cover crops 115 

Vine, grape 115 

W 
Woolly aphis 235 



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